Tom Brady is the “GOAT of all GOATs,” while NBA superstar Michael Jordan’s reign as the greatest player in all of sports is “gone.”
According to American sports pundit Michael Irvin, Brady has already separated himself from the competition as one of sports’ all-time greats thanks to his seven Super Bowl victories.
Before agreeing to a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, Brady, 45, played the majority of his NFL games with the New England Patriots.
And the Buccaneers’ 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 allowed the NFL legend to capture his eighth Super Bowl ring, further cementing his place in history.
Brady announced back in February that he would call it time on his legendary career before making a shock U-turn on the decision only six weeks later.
Speaking to Stephen A Smith on ESPN’s First Take in 2021, Dallas Cowboys legend Irvin believed that Brady is now the undisputed GOAT ahead of Jordan.
“Tom Brady is the GOAT of all GOATs,” he said.
“[…] This man won six [Super Bowls], and he just won a seventh. That’s it; it’s over. We don’t need to talk about what it takes to win an NFL championship versus what it takes to win an NBA championship.
Former New England Patriots superstar Tom Brady has seven Super Bowl rings to his name. Credit: Alamy
“It is way more difficult to win an NFL championship than it is to win an NBA championship, and this man has won more than [Jordan] has won in his. You can stop it, stop messing with it, go ahead and claim it, give it to him.”
Jordan, who called it time on a decorated career in 2003, lifted six NBA championships and is widely regarded by some as the best basketball player of all time.
The 59-year-old former Chicago Bulls superstar’s accomplishments were praised by Smith, who pointed to his ability as an “elite scorer” and as a bona fide “leader.”
“[Jordan] has never lost a championship series, never even allowed it to get to a Game 7 — ever,” Smith said.
Michael Jordan won all six of his NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Credit: Alamy
“[…] Last time I checked, Tom Brady can throw, but when we talk about athlete, when we talk about the GOAT, Tom Brady ain’t gonna be accused of out-running anybody.
“He ain’t gonna be accused of blocking for anybody. […] And oh, by the way, he does not play defence nor special teams.
“Michael Jordan was one of the elite defenders in the game of basketball; he was clearly the elite scorer in the game of basketball. Obviously, he was a leader.”
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Topics: Michael Jordan, NFL, Tom Brady, Basketball
Adnan RiazADVERTADVERTADVERT“He wanted it so bad” – Michael Jordan once gave away his Ferrari to sporting legend as a Christmas giftDaniel Marland
Featured Image Credit: PA Images
Michael Jordan once gave his luxurious Ferrari 550 Maranello to a fellow NBA legend because he knew how desperate he wanted it.
Former Chicago Bulls superstar Jordan is one of the richest men in sport and boasts an incredible car collection.
He had no issue with flaunting his wealth during an incredibly successful career, which caught one teammate’s eye.
Scottie Pippen has been called Jordan’s greatest teammate by the man himself and the pair dominated in the 90s.
They won six NBA championships together with the Bulls and in 1997, Jordan decided money was no object.
“For the Christmas of ’97, Pippen had an earring made for Jordan – a diamond-encrusted replica of the NBA championship trophy,” Chicago reporter Melissa Isaacson wrote in a 2010 column for ESPN.
“Jordan, who had planned to give Pippen a box of cigars, reconsidered and instead gave him his red Ferrari, which Pippen had long admired.
‘He wanted it so bad,’ said Jordan. It wasn’t a double locker, but it would do.”
At the time, Jordan’s Ferrari was worth around $170,000 and that’s increased to $331,000 in modern money.
Despite the generosity from Jordan, Pippen seems to have never considered him a close friend off the court.
“Michael was bigger than the game, you know. Even my initial arrival to Chicago he was a big, iconic figure for the NBA. So, we never really had that off the court relationship,” Pippen told GQ per CBS Sports.
Jordan is one of the GOATs. (Image Credit: Alamy)
“Our relationship between the lines was impeccable. We pushed each other to be great. We trained with each other to be the best. So, everything we did, from a basketball standpoint, it was a high level of respect there that we knew we could be the best.
“We could be dominant. We had went through pretty much the Vietnam War to get where we got to. We were battle tested.”
Jordan was famously demanding and very rarely lost… although one night in Las Vegas, he did.
Per Fadeaway World, Rich Strafella, former VP of Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, told the story of Jordan gambling with ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky as a waitress brought their drinks.
There are a number of legendary stories about Jordan. (Image Credit: Alamy)
“I remember a night when Wayne Gretzky insulted Michael Jordan at the table,” Strafella said.
“It was a private salon game. Michael had ordered a drink from the cocktail waitress, and he gave her a five-dollar chip.
“Wayne took it off the cocktail waitress’s tray, gave it back to Michael, grabbed a hundred-dollar chip from Michael’s stack and put it on the cocktail waitress’s tray. Then he said, “That’s how we tip in Las Vegas, Michael.”
Savage stuff from Gretzky. Calling out Jordan in public and remaining on good terms.
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Topics: Michael Jordan, USA, NBA, Basketball
Daniel MarlandADVERTADVERTADVERTThe five best sporting GOATs of all time were ranked on ESPN, Stephen A Smith did NOT agree with No 1 pickAdnan Riaz
Featured Image Credit: ESPN First Take/Alamy
Stephen A Smith disagreed with his former ESPN First Take co-host Max Kellerman over his top pick in the five best sporting GOATs of all time.
During an episode of ESPN’s First Take, Smith, Kellerman and co-host Molly Qerim kicked things off by showing NFL.com’s picks for the top five GOATs of all time.
NFL.com compiled the rankings after Tom Brady’s seventh Super Bowl triumph in 2021 and placed the NFL legend at No 1 ahead of NBA icon Michael Jordan.
MJ finished second in the rankings and NHL legend Wayne Gretzky came third, with Tiger Woods and Serena Williams finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
NFL.com named boxing legend Muhammad Ali outside of the top five, as well as the likes of Pele, Anderson Silva, Ric Flair and Usain Bolt making the 16-person list.
However, Kellerman offered his own take on the five best sporting GOATs of all time and dropped Brady from NFL.com’s No 1 spot to No 5 in his rankings.
The 49-year-old American sports host kept tennis legend Williams in fourth place, but he made the controversial decision to leave Gretzky out and put Ali in at No 3.
Golf legend Woods was removed entirely from Kellerman’s top five picks, with American baseball icon Babe Ruth entering the rankings.
Finally, Kellerman decided to name Chicago Bulls legend Jordan, who is considered the best basketball player of all time, his GOAT of all sporting GOATs.
Smith immediately disagreed with Ruth making Kellerman’s rankings and insisted that the New York Yankees hero wouldn’t make his top five.
Jordan enjoyed a prolific basketball career during the 1990s and captured six NBA championships and received six NBA Finals MVP accolades with the Chicago Bulls.
However, First Take co-host Smith explained to Kellerman why MJ would be in his top two picks for sporting GOATs, but Ali would take home the top spot.
“Even though you know how much I love MJ — six-time NBA champion, six-time NBA Finals MVP, undefeated in championship competition — I would still have MJ as No 2 on my list because I’m not putting anybody ahead of Muhammad Ali because I take into account the level of adversity you have to face in pursuit of your excellence,” he said.
“And when I think about it from that perspective, that’s why I put Ali over Michael Jordan.
“Ali getting denied the opportunity to fight for years, getting stripped of the heavyweight crown because of his refusal to enter the army because he didn’t want to participate in the Vietnam War and all of this other stuff.
“Him being a member of the Nation of Islam and some of the adversity that created, him being stripped of his title, not being allowed to fight and then coming back after losing to Joe Frazier and ultimately coming back to avenge that loss and then beating George Foreman.
“George Foreman was Mike Tyson before there was Mike Tyson. We understand how vicious and how menacing it was.”
Topics: Stephen A Smith, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Tom Brady
Adnan RiazADVERTADVERTADVERTMichael Jordan Rejected Idris Elba’s Request To Portray Him In A BiopicJayden Collins
Featured Image Credit: Tribune Content Agency LLC / Alamy. Sydney Alford / Alamy.
Movie star Idris Elba has revealed the legendary Michael Jordan turned down his request to play him in a biopic.
The Chicago Bulls star is one of the most recognisable names and characters in the world and a biopic about the basketball player’s career would undoubtedly be a hit.
A name as iconic as Idris Elba would fit the bill perfectly to play the big man, however, the six-time NBA champ turned down the offer, claiming he wasn’t ready for a biopic to be made about him just yet.
Jordan’s life both on and off the court would be a dream role for many an actor, so he probably has a line out the door of Hollywood stars.
However, Elba is one of the biggest stars in film today having featured in superhero movies such as Thor, Avengers, and The Suicide Squad.
He famously played Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom where he was nominated for a Golden Globe.
However, in a recent episode of Complex’s Sneaker Shopping the film star recounted his conversation with MJ.
He told host Joe La Puma: “I even said to him one time, ‘I want to play you’.
“He was like, ‘Hm, I’m not ready yet.’ That’s what he said, ‘I’m not ready yet.’ … I was dead serious.”
Elba detailed how he would portray Michael Jordan in the potential role, looking beyond his career as an athlete.
He continued: “In my head, playing Jordan wouldn’t be about playing the basketball player; it was about the businessman.
“He is a very astute businessman, really smart. And his work as a philanthropist is unspoken, but people don’t understand the work. He cares; he does a lot of work.
“So that’s where I was hinting at. I wanna play Jordan – I’m doing that. He was like, ‘Ah, I’m not ready for that story yet.’”
I think a lot of us would be more than ready for that story.
While Jordan’s basketball career has been highly documented and talked about in documentaries such as The Last Dance he has yet to have a full-length biopic made about him.
That doesn’t seem to bother him for the moment.
Hopefully, Jordan’s mind changes in the future, which would undoubtedly cause a lot of competition from actors hoping to nab the role.
Topics: Basketball, NBA, Michael Jordan
Jayden CollinsADVERTADVERTADVERTNBA rename the annual MVP award to the ‘Michael Jordan Trophy’ in honour of the legendJayden Collins
Featured Image Credit: Rich Kane Photography / Alamy. @NBAHistory/Twitter.
The NBA has announced that they will be renaming their annual Most Valuable Player award to the Michael Jordan Trophy in honour of the player.
It is one of several award name changes in honour of some of the league’s greatest players of all time which will now be presented at the NBA’s end-of-season awards.
The former Chicago Bulls player is a five-time recipient of the award, only being beaten out by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time recipient list.
Additionally, the league decided to rename four other awards in honour of some of the league’s greatest personalities.
The Defensive Player of the Year becomes the Hakeen Olajuwon Trophy named after the nine-time All-Defensive Team selected player.
The Rookie of the Year award will now be called the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy after the former Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors player who won the award in 1960.
The John Havlicek Trophy will be recognised for the Sixth Man of the Year award, a fitting selection for a man who was an 11-time All-NBA selection despite coming off the bench for several seasons.
And the award for Most Improved Player will now be called the George Mikan Trophy after the man who lead the Minneapolis Lakers to five championships in the 1940s and 50s.
The updates come as part of a multi-year project to reimagine many of the league’s trophies.
Last season, there were new conference trophies named after Oscar Robertson, Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, and Larry bird.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement: “Our new collection of trophies celebrates some of the greatest and most impactful players in the history of the NBA.
“As we recognise the league’s top performers each season, we also pay tribute to the legends who embody these prestigious awards.”
The trophy features an NBA player breaking out of a rock to reach for a crystal basketball.
Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic was retroactively awarded the massive trophy after being named the MVP last season.
Damn, that thing is huge.
The MVP trophy was originally named after former commissioner Maurice Podoloff, whose name will now be attached to a new trophy honouring a team with the best regular-season record.
Source: sportbible.com
