Former North Carolina State David Thompson, possibly the greatest player in that program’s history could not believe that he was asked to introduce possibly the greatest player in University of North Carolina history, Michael Jordan.

“I was kind of surprised, and also was really flattered that he chose me over Coach Smith” Thompson said at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Induction ceremony last Friday in Springfield Massachusetts.

However, Jordan felt that Thompson was the perfect person to introduce him. “I grew up idolizing him, pattern parts of my game behind him….I think he deserves that type of recognition,” Jordan said in an interview with ESPN prior to the ceremony.

In order for one to debate whether he is the best basketball player of all time, they would first have to recognize what he has accomplished throughout his career that expanded over three decades.

Jordan was first introduced to the world as the only freshman in the starting lineup for Dean Smith’s 1981-82 Tar Heels. That season is remembered most for Jordan hitting the game winning shot against Georgetown in the national title game, giving Coach Smith his first title in 20 years at the school. Jordan would later say that the shot was a major turning point in his basketball career.

In the following seasons, Jordan would receive consensus All-American honors in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He was also the consensus national Player of the Year in his junior season of 1983-84. He would win his first of two gold medals in the Olympics that summer, after being selected with the number three by the Chicago Bulls in the draft.

He averaged 28.2 ppg in his rookie season, winning the1985 Rookie of the Year. He suffered the only major injury of his career in his second season with a broken foot that caused him to miss 64 of 82 games. He return for the playoffs in 1986 and scored a playoff record 63 points in game two of the Bulls first round series against the eventually champions the Boston Celtics. The record still stands today.

In 1988, Jordan enjoyed his most successful individual season. He won his first NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in steals with over three per game. He also led the league in scoring at 35.0 ppg and minutes with over 40 per game. It was at this time that Jordan and the Bulls started having playoff success.

They advanced out of the first round for the first time and would advance all the way to the Eastern Conference finals in the 1989 playoffs. In 1991, under his second year of coaching from Phil Jackson, Jordan won his second MVP award and finally broke free of the Detroit Pistons “Jordan Rules,” as he lead the Bulls to the NBA Finals. They defeated Magic Johnson and the L.A. Lakers to capture their first NBA championship. Jordan would win another MVP and NBA title in 1992.

He won his second gold as a member of the “Dream Team” in the summer of 1992 and then won another NBA title in 1993. However, despite the success he was having Jordan retired on October 6, 1993. It’s a retirement that Jordan does not regret.

“I lost the desire for what the game represented…my passion for the game was lost” he said.

He played minor league baseball for Chicago White Sox in the spring of 1994 and would later return to the NBA in March of 1995. That following season Jordan led the Bulls to greatest record in NBA history going 72-10 and he also won his fourth NBA title MVP.

He would capture his fifth NBA title and MVP in 1997 and then end his Hall of Fame career with the Bulls in a memorable shot to defeat the Utah Jazz in 1998 by retiring again. He eventually made one final return to the game he couldn’t abandon in 2001 with the Washington Wizards and still posted over 19.0 ppg even in his 40’s.

So, the debate for a while has been is Jordan the greatest player of all time? I personally feel that this is a rhetorical question. There will never be a player like Jordan. No one will be able to up numbers like Jordan, as consistently as he did.  He has the highest regular season (30.1) and playoff (33.4) scoring averages.

He also won five MVPs that could have easily been eight or nine, and was named to the All-NBA team 11 times and All-Defensive team nine times. I could say more but you get the point. Also, it was not just Jordan as a player it was the impact that he had on his team.

The Air Jordans and the Jordan brand, everybody has at least one pair, and our very own school was sponsored by the Jordan brand. ho does not know the words to the “Like Mike” song? Jordan was an icon. As great as Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and DeWayne Wade are today, all the success they achieve will simply pale in comparison to what Jordan did.

As much as Bryant and James want to chase and become better than Jordan, they cannot do it because you cannot surpass the greatest player in the history of basketball. Jordan said that he would never call himself the greatest player ever. But that’s because of all of his peers who played against him and the millions of fans that enjoyed watching him play know he is greatest and will say it for him.   

• Dwight Moore II