Stan Van Gundy: MJ Not the Clear-Cut G.O.A.T

SVG has another opinion (shocker, I know), and says that Mike isn’t necessarily the greatest ever. Methinks this is the sort of thing that might make an enraged Jordan announce yet another comeback just in time for Game 3 of the Bobcats/Magic series: “Van Gundy says Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain belong in that discussion. ‘(Jordan’s) certainly right there with anybody and he may be (the greatest). But the people who say it’s obvious and everything else…I think maybe don’t know enough history,’ Van Gundy said. ‘I think one of the really tough things is to compare players from generation to generation. The game has changed a great deal. He’s the best player by far since I’ve been in the league. I came in the early 90’s when he was in his prime. I think in the last 20, 25 years, he’s the best. But to me, the two other guys I think of are Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain…the things they did.’ Van Gundy said television helped make Jordan an icon: ‘We didn’t have the saturation on TV and that,’ in earlier generations. ‘I don’t even know how many times Oscar Robertson was on national TV his entire career. Michael Jordan, people saw him from college and all the way through.”’