SECTION 4 - The "Jordan Never Faced Zone" Myth

One of the greatest myths in all of sports history is that Michael Jordan never faced zone defense. Before we get to the zones that Jordan actually DID face in his era, contrary to popular belief, just take a look at Section 20 to see how, pre-injury, Jordan was an MVP candidate in 2001/02 when zone was legalized in the rule book and putting up Tracy McGrady-type numbers.

There is also a huge misconception that the "introduction" of zone defense in 2001/02 (when in actuality it has been allowed in the league for a long time) forces players of today to stay out of the paint and take contested long range shots.

Washed up Jordan already torched the overrated zone
 defense in back to back seasons against the back
to back Eastern Conference Champs.

Let's put this to the test by looking at the statistical evidence from the 2009-2010 season as a whole....

1. 82% of Tyreke Evans's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
2. 75% of Dwyane Wade's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
3. 71% of Carmelo Anthony's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
4. 70% of Kevin Durant's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
5. 68% of LeBron James's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
6. 68% of Derrick Rose's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
7. 66% of Kobe Bryant's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
8. 66% of Monta Ellis's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
9. 63% of Brandon Roy's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
10. 62% of Dirk Nowitzki's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
11. 61% of Stephen Jackson's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
12. 61% of Deron Williams's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
13. 58% of Joe Johnson's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.
14. 56% of Danny Granger's points came from inside of 15 feet and free throws combined.

Not one perimeter superstar scored even half of his points from jumpers that were taken from 15 feet and out. So clearly the myth that the "introduction" of zone defenses in the league forced long distance jump shots is not true. Tony Parker also led the league in points in the paint for a large portion of the 2005/06 season. You seriously think prime Jordan would have a problem driving in the paint if 6-2 Tony Parker can do that?

Now, there are still going to be people that are going to mindlessly repeat, "Jordan never played zone! He played 1 on 1 his whole career!" so let's destroy that misconception right now. And there's nothing better to disprove the myth of zone defense not being in the 80s/90s than actual footage

1. A huge montage of Jordan playing against zones
2. Several more minutes of Jordan playing against zones, and direct references to the use of zone defense by coaches, players, and commentators during the 90s.
3. Several instances where the zone was used by the Bad Boy Pistons in the late 80s.
4. More instances of zone by the Knicks in the early 90s.
5. Dr. J dunking against the Lakers zone in the 1980 NBA Finals.
6. Tthe Sixers and Lakers using zone in Game 6 of the 1982 Finals.
7. Dr J. against the Lakers zone in Game 1 of the 1983 Finals.
8. Zone used by the Lakers and Sixers in a 1983 regular season game.
9. Zone defense in the 1986 Finals between the Celtics and Rockets.
10. Nets trying to use zone to stop Jordan in 1987.
11. Jordan vs the Pacers zone in 1987.
12. Jordan dropping 61 on the Hawks zone in 1987.
13. Zone in Game 2 of the 1987 ECF by the Pistons and Celtics.
14. Zone used by the Lakers and Sixers in a 1988 regular season game.
15. Jordan's famous dunk on Ewing in 1991 came against the zone
16. The Lakers using zone against Jordan in the 1991 NBA Finals.
17. Drexler and Bird torching the zone in a 1992 regular season game.
18. Jordan against the Knicks 3-2 defense in the 1992 playoffs.
19. Zone in a 1993 game between the Spurs and Bulls.
20. Hakeem against the Sonics zone in the 1993 Playoffs
21. The Magic and Knicks using zone defense on several possessions in a 1994 regular season game
22. Blatant use of zone between the Hornets and Magic in the 1994/95 season.
23. Hakeem against the Jazz zone in Game 4 of the first round of the 1995 Playoffs
24. Hakeem schooling David Robinson and the Spurs zone in Game 5 of the 1995 WCF.
25. Hakeem against the zone in the 1995 Finals
26. Jordan schooling the Hornets zone in 1995
27. Jordan vs Bucks zone in 1996.
28. Jordan schooling the Warrors zone in 1996.
29. Jordan going against Sonics zone in the 1996 Finals.
30. A 1997 regular season game where Grant Hill deals with zone against the Lakers on several different occasions. 
31. Hakeem against the Sonics zone in the 1997 Playoffs
32. Jordan schooling Duncan and Robinson's Spurs with the zone in 1998.
33. Jordan against the Raptors with the zone in 1998.

Zone didn't stop Jordan from driving in
the lane and posterizing Ewing

So everyone reading this should never again try to use the idiotic argument that Jordan didn't play zone. Nor should they say that Jordan would have problems with it, when a 40 year old Jordan completely torched the 2003 Nets with the second-best defense in the league, who were using zone to try and stop him.

Furthremore, most zones today are not even true zones, thanks to the addition of the defensive 3 seconds rule. This prevents bigs from camping out in the lane to be an imposing defensive presence or rim protector. On top of that, zones in Jordan's day were still enhanced by handchecking and physical play - which you can see in the above videos. Not only did Jordan face zones in his day, but the zones that he faced were far more difficult, physical, and complex than the zones of today that are weakened by the multitude of rule changes and illegal 3 seconds rule. Before we look at multiple quotes exposing the misconception of illegal defense and the completely false notion of a pre-zone era, let's listen to the Former Executive Vice President of the NBA, Stu Jackson break down the impact of rule changes.

"The Board voted to eliminate our old illegal defense guidelines (which were rarely enforced, as we will see in later quotes) to implement a new defensive three-second call... and allow less contact. All changes were passed with the idea of trying to encourage more free flowing five-man offenses, open up the lanes for cutting and passing and speed up the game by encouraging teams to get into their offenses quicker...

Our objective was to allow for more offensive freedom by not allowing defenders to hand-, forearm- or body-check ball handlers. By doing so, we encouraged more dribble penetration. As players penetrated more, it produced higher quality shots for the ball handler as well as shots for teammates on passes back out to perimeter. When NBA players get higher quality shots -- having more time to shoot -- they tend to make more of them.

Q: Shooting percentages have risen since 2004-05 regardless of location -- at-the-rim shots, short- and deep-mid range and 3-pointers. Does this surprise you, especially the higher percentages from 3-point range?

SJ: With the rule and interpretation changes, it has become more difficult for defenders to defend penetration, cover the entire floor on defensive rotations and recover to shooters. This has provided more time for shooters to ready themselves for quality shots. With more dribble penetration, ball handlers are getting more opportunities at the rim...

Q: Doesn't the wide-open style benefit certain types of players? For example, wing players vs. frontcourt players?

SJ: The benefits of an open game are not limited to just perimeter players. An open game can benefit a post player as well. Remember, if the players are spaced wider and using more of the court, then defenses have to play those players closely because they're good shooters. The style actually serves to open up the middle of the floor. If a team has an effective post player, he would have more room to operate in the post.

Q: From an Xs and Os perspective, how have coaches adjusted to a more wide-open game? What have they done differently?

SJ: Coaches have utilized more space on the floor so to create more room for dribble penetration, two-man pick-and-roll basketball and dribble exchanges on the perimeter. 

...the days of the big man who is purely a defensive specialist and physical enforcer is changing toward having power forwards or centers who can rebound, pass and shoot the ball from the perimeter.

There are distinct differences in the international game vs. the NBA game. The international game utilizes a pure zone defense (as opposed to the defensive three-second rule), which allows frontcourt players to stand in the middle of the lane and discourage cutting, passing and dribble penetration.
- Stu Jackson, 2005 - former head coach and Executive Vice President of the NBA

Now let's look at some more stuff

1. The 76ers' inability to execute against the Laker trap, which Erving calls ''a college zone defense,'' has been blamed in part for the one-sided losses.

''Their trap,'' said Hollins, ''has forced us into becoming an outside shooting team, something that we are not. Our game is to run and push the ball inside, but their zone trap has not allowed that to happen.

We're a team that uses a lot of screens to get open shots, but they have effectively taken another option away from us.''We have to make the passes early and force them to match up against us. If the 24-second clock has run down, it becomes that much more difficult to run a play and, eventually, we are forced into shooting long jumpers.''

Cunningham thinks that too much is being made of the Lakers' zone trap. ''Everybody is talking about the problems it has given us,'' he said, ''but we beat it to death in the fourth quarter Thursday night. But we can't do it just for seven minutes or for one quarter. Beating a team as good as the Lakers takes 48 minutes of concentrated efforts. It's that simple.

''Pat Riley, the Los Angeles coach, agreed that the effectiveness of the trap has been overemphasized: ''It's been a very effective defense for us, but I'm concerned with what they did against it in the fourth game. We'll make some minor adjustments in it, mostly in the areas of when to put it on and when to take it off.''
- New York Times, 1982

It's interesting that Pat Riley flat out ADMITTED to using zone defense in the 1982 Finals and then said this in 2001

“I think it was the biggest mistake ever to allow a zone. When you allow people to just stand in areas in this game and bring great players to a stop and have to attack zones with jump shots, I think you’re taking away a lot.” 

"The biggest mistake ever to allow a zone", when you were already using zone in the 1982 Finals, and admitted to doing that? Just goes to show the irrelevance of modern quotes claiming that zone was only recently introduced, thanks to recall bias.

2. The second-best thing was their nifty zone trap. They produced it at just the right time in the Finals opener at the Spectrum on Thursday, May 27...

After the game, Sixers coach Billy Cunningham called it both ways. He said the zone trap wasn't hurting his team all that much. Then he called it an obviously illegal zone... 

Again the zone trap was the Sixers' undoing. But the Sixers did their share, too, with incredibly flat play... The next night, the Lakers controlled the tempo by ditching Showtime and going to their half-court power game with Abdul-Jabbar. On the other end, they kept up the pressure with their zone trap.
- NBA.com: Lakers Arduos Seasons Ends in Victory - referring to the 1982 NBA Finals

During Game 6, Bill Russell, who was commentating, noted "They're (Sixers, or perhaps referring to both teams) playing this illegal defense, when of course they know they are"

3. "Last season, Jordan had to overcome the harassment of zone traps and double and triple-teaming"
- New York Times, 1987

4. "They`ve used zone traps; they`ve put two, three and sometimes four defenders on him"
- Chicago Tribune, 1987 

5. ''My concerns are that more teams are going to the trap, 'which ultimately ends in a zone defense for a period of seconds, which makes it extremely difficult to attack in the 15 or so odd seconds after it crosses the half-court line to set up the offense... After our game Tuesday night against Miami, I watched the Laker and Chicago game on satellite TV. I noticed that Chicago has adopted a half-court that L.A. has been using so successfully and it ended up in a zone defense for a period of seconds, which forced L.A. to take a quick shot without the ability to set up their half-court offense.''

'When you play New York, you have to prepare yourself because they have so many different traps.''
- Chuck Daly, 1988

6. Responding to the proliferation of all-out zone defenses being implemented as the 1988-89 season unfolded, the Competition Committee of the National Basketball Association has, for the umpteenth time, attempted to address the matter at the league meetings.

"We received a great many complaints, especially over the last third of the season," said league vice president of operations Rod Thorn.
- Boston Globe, 1989

7. The assumption that zone defenses are not played in the NBA is false. The rules allow for full-court zone pressure, andbecause defenses are permitted to aggressively double-team the ballanywhere on the floor, teams play de facto zones in the frontcourt,too. To one degree or another, every NBA team uses some type of zone.
- Sports Illustrated, 1990

8. "Our teams are zoning now. Rule or no rule. We're not allowed to use the word `zone' but it's a zone.''
- Dick Motta, 1996

9. "They (Seattle Supersonics) play a zone defense. They shove you in a corner and they trap you at half-court and they run off and double-team while you're dribbling the ball. It's a legal zone but they have a heck of a good defense."
- Phil Jackson, 1996

10. "I don't think Seattle is going to put Gary Payton on Michael Jordan. We like that matchup because he'll get in foul trouble. In a zone defense like Seattle plays, they're just going to send him some way where they can double-team him all the time."
- Phil Jackson, 1996

11. Utah plays the best zone in basketball. They play a 2-1-2 with five guys with a foot in the paint 90 percent of the time."
- George Karl, 1996

12. "A lot of good defensive teams are playing nothing more than a disguised zone. The Bulls, the Sonics, a couple of other teams do it." - Antoine Carr said the chief problem with the illegal-defense rule is that coaches know refs won't call it every time they see it.

"I asked one of the referees in Seattle, `If there were 21 illegal defenses, would you call all 21?' " Carr said. "And he said he would, because if he didn't the league would be all over him. But it never happens. Now put yourself in the same situation as a coach. If you know the most they are going to call it is four times a game, wouldn't you start playing it after awhile?"

- Desert News, 1996

13. "Zone was always in there. It just weren't called. It was always in there"
- Wilt Chamberlain - This same principle applies to the 80/90s era

And let's recap how Jordan did when zone was supposedly introduced for the first time.

MJ 2001/02 season before injury (Age 38) through 46 games 
- (pts, rebs, assist, steals, blk) - 25.1 - 6.2 - 5.3 - 1.5 - 0.5 on 42% 
- slightly better than his 1996 Finals MVP averages

• T-Mac was the only player to finish the season averaging at least 25-6-5
• Jordan was averaging 25-6-5 at age 38 pre-injury
• LeBron averaged 25-6-7 at age 30

Jordan's numbers were also improving as the season went on.

In his last 20 games up to the injury he averaged  27.5 - 6.4 - 5.2 - 1.3 - 0.5 on 44% In his last 10 games up to the injury he averaged 29.7 - 6.6 - 6.1 - 1.2 - 0.3 on 47%

It's also worth nothing that 17 of Jordan's 46 games (37% of them) came against top 10 defenses in points allowed. Despite a large proportion of those 46 games coming against top 10 defenses, he still put up those big numbers while not being healthy in the first place.

Defensively Jordan also had an impact even at this late stage of his career.

2001 Wizards = 2nd worst in ppg allowed the year before.

Up to the injury game

2002 Wizards = allowed 92.2 ppg through 47 games (Jordan missed 1 game)

- would be tied for 6th-best in the league with the Pistons.

2002 Wizards = allowed 92.0 ppg in the 46 games Jordan played
- would be tied for 5th best in the league with the Nets

After Jordan's injury 

2002 Wizards = allowed 96.8 ppg in the remaining 35 games

- would be ranked 19th in the league

- and fell to 11th in ppg allowed for the overall season.

The only negative of Jordan's game was FG%, which is to be expected at the tail end of your career, and his low FG% had much more to do with his back, rib, knee, and wrist injuries along with his old age, rather than the defense he was facing. However, low FG% doesn't necessarily equate to a negative effect on your team's win column. 

• In Jordan's 46 games before knee injury the Wiz had a 26-20 (0.565 win%).
• In games without MJ and post-injury, the Wiz had a 11-25 (0.300 win%)

MJ's Wiz did FAR worse without him or post-injury in the 2001/02 season. They went from playoff contenders to a horrible team. Jordan's low FG% is irrelevant, not only because 42% shooting as a 38 year old man off of 3 year retirement is far from horrible, but because he helped his team win games regardless. 

And on top of that, Jordan was able to have this impact despite the absence of Rip Hamilton for about a month during Jordan's 26-20 stretch (Jordan missed 1 game vs the Spurs - bringing the Wizards record to 26-21 before the injury). 

In the last 16 games that Rip and Jordan played together prior to Jordan's knee collision, the Wizards went 15-1, and they won 13 straight games when both of them played together. Had both Rip and MJ stayed healthy, they very well could have cracked 50 wins overall despite starting the season 2-9 and being a 19-win team the previous year. After Jordan's injury, Rip went 9-24 (0.273 win%) in the remaining games he played, so it was clearly Jordan who had by far the most impact on the W column. 

Jordan's defensive impact also improved as the season went on, prior to his injury.

The Wizards started the season off slow with a 2-9 start
- and allowed 98.4 ppg during the 2-9 start
- on pace for 5th worst in the league

In Jordan's last 35 games pre-injury after the 2-9 start
- the Wizards allowed 90.0 ppg
- on pace for 3rd best in the league

When Jordan and Rip Hamilton played together, they were 15-1 in their last 16 games together up to the injury
- The Wizards allowed 86.3 ppg in that 15-1 stretch
- Easily on pace for the best in the league
- The 2002 Heat were number 1 at 88.7 ppg allowed

Jordan at age 34 proved himself under one of the top 3 hardest defensive circumstances for a championship team. In the shot-clock era, only the

- 1997 Bulls

- 1999 Spurs

- 2004 Pistons 

have won the championship while facing 2 sub-90 PPG defenses in the Playoffs. 

All 3 teams that faced more than 2 sub-90 PPG defenses in the Playoffs

- 1998 Pacers (3)

- 1999 Knicks (3)

- 2004 Lakers (4) 

failed to win the championship, confirming the harder circumstances become as a team faces more sub-90 defenses

The 2013 Grizzlies are the last sub-90 PPG defense in NBA history at 89.3 PPG allowed. So Jordan would no longer be facing defenses of comparable quality from 2014-present. 

The 1997 Bulls collective Playoff opponent win% was 0.686, the 2nd-highest of any Title team that played 4 rounds. Among Title teams that played 4 rounds, only the 1995 Rockets had a harder Playoff strength of schedule with a 0.726 collective Playoff opponent win%. 

Under these incredibly hard circumstances, both in terms of competition and defense, Jordan at age 34 still put up 31-8-5 on 46% FG - 81% FT for the 1997 Playoffs and led the team in 5/5 categories for the last 3 rounds collectively. 

All shot-clock era teams to face multiple sub-90 PPG defenses in one playoff run 

- 1997 Bulls (2) 

- 1998 Jazz (2) 

- 1998 Pacers (3) 

- 1999 Hawks (2) 

- 1999 Pacers (2) 

- 1999 Blazers (2) 

- 1999 Spurs (2) 

- 1999 Knicks (3) 

- 2004 Pacers (2) 

- 2004 Pistons (2) 

- 2004 Lakers (4) 

- 2012 Sixers (2) 

The 2012 Sixers are the only team post-2004/05 rule changes to face two sub-90 PPG defenses, but this comes with multiple asterisks 

1. The Sixers faced injured teams in both rounds of the 2012 Playoffs - Bulls with Derrick Rose missing all but 1 game and Joakim Noah missing 3 of 6 games in the 1st Round - Celtics with Avery Bradley missing 3 of 7 games in the ECSF, after starting every playoff game 

2. The 2012 Bulls and 2012 Celtics also had much worse defensive numbers against the Western Conference. Their defensive numbers were heavily protected by playing most of their games against Eastern Conference teams, and they were not true sub-90 PPG defenses. 

- 2012 Bulls = 94.1 PPG allowed vs West teams 

- 2012 Celtics = 92.7 PPG allowed vs West teams

The 2012 Celtics had a losing 7-11 record vs West teams as well. 

Players Averaging 20+ PPG in the Playoffs when facing 2+ sub-90 PPG defenses 

Unless otherwise noted, these Playoff runs are against exactly 2 sub-90 PPG defenses 

31.1 PPG - Michael Jordan (1997) - 31-8-5 on 46% 

26.3 PPG - Karl Malone (1998) - 26-11-3 on 47% 

24.5 PPG* - Kobe Bryant (2004) - 25-5-6 on 41% 

23.2 PPG - Tim Duncan (1999) - 23-12-3 on 51% 

21.5 PPG* - Shaquille O'Neal (2004) - 22-13-3 on 59% 

21.5 PPG - Richard Hamilton (2004) - 22-5-4 on 45% 

20.4 PPG** - Latrell Sprewell (1999) - 20-5-2 on 42% 

20.2 PPG - Reggie Miller (1999) - 20-4-3 on 40% 

*Shaq and Kobe faced 4 sub-90 PPG defenses, 2 sub-85 PPG defenses

**Sprewell faced 3 sub-85 PPG defenses, 4 sub-91 PPG defenses 

Reggie Miller in 1998 was exactly 1 total point away from having 20 PPG against 3 sub-90 PPG defenses, but went scoreless in the 4th quarter of Game 7. 

Under comparable statistical defensive circumstances to Jordan's in 1997 (not to mention competition in terms of collective opponent win%), no player has come close to Jordan's 1997 Playoffs performance, at age 34 and well past his prime no less. 

Jordan had by far the highest volume of PPG under these circumstances at 31.1 PPG. No other player has even reached 26.5 PPG in the Playoffs against multiple sub-90 PPG defenses. Of any 20+ PPG player under these circumstances, Jordan had the highest FG% of any non-PF/C. and Jordan also led the Bulls in 5/5 categories for the last 3 rounds of the 1997 Playoffs collectively.

Again, post-2004/05 rule changes no team has faced 2 true sub-90 PPG defenses in any Playoffs due to the asterisks surrounding the 2012 Sixers' competition. Therefore there is little reason to believe even the 34-year old past-prime version of Jordan in 1997, let alone prime Jordan, would have any lesser production in any post-illegal defense Playoff run outside of maybe 2004 compared to his 1997 performance, and certainly not after the 2004/05 rule changes.

Jordan's stats are actaully deflated compared to other stars, because he played with the fewest possessions possible during his 6 championships.

Championship Teams with a Sub-90 Pace in the Playoffs
17. 1994 Rockets - 89.9
16. 2010 Lakers - 89.6

15. 1992 Bulls - 89.0
T-13. 1989 Pistons - 88.9
T-13. 2007 Spurs - 88.9
12. 1993 Bulls - 88.5
11. 1991 Bulls - 88.1

10. 2012 Heat - 88.0
T-8. 2013 Heat - 87.3
T-8. 2005 Spurs - 87.3
7. 1996 Bulls - 86.8
6. 2011 Mavericks - 86.6

5. 2004 Pistons - 86.1
4. 2008 Celtics - 85.9
3. 1997 Bulls - 85.5
2. 1999 Spurs - 85.4
1. 1998 Bulls - 84.1

Amongst championship teams

Bulls have
- 6 of the top 15 slowest playoff paces
- 3 of the top 7 slowest playoff paces
- 2 of the top 3 slowest playoff paces
- the slowest playoff pace

Spurs have
- 2 of the top 8 slowest playoff paces
- the 2nd-slowest playoff pace

Bulls (6 times), Spurs (3 times), Heat (2 times), and Pistons (2 times) are the only championship teams with multiple sub-90 playoff paces. Though the Pistons were 15 years apart. No Title teams with a sub-90 Playoff Pace prior to 1989.

The fact that Jordan put up his amazing stats during his championship runs with the fewest possessions possible clearly shows how much more dominant he would be in any other era.

More

SECTION 1 - Players From Jordan's Day Against 2000s Defenses

- Looking at how the Jordan Era players had an easier time in the modern era

SECTION 2 - How Washed-up Jordan Did Against the Top Defenders of the "Advanced, More Athletic, Superior" 2000s Era

- Looking at how a 38-40 year old Jordan himself schooled the 2000s defenders

SECTION 3 - Jordan's "Weak" Defensive Competition Compared to Lebron/Kobe's "Advanced" Competition
- Proving the vast superiority of individual defenders of Jordan's era compared to the 2000s

SECTION 4 - The "Jordan Never Faced Zone" Myth

- Destroying the myth that Jordan never played zone defense

SECTION 5 - The Myth That 80s/90s Defenses Can't Contain Modern Players Without the 80s/90s Rules

- Proof that 80s/90s players would still have success guarding 2000s players without the 80s/90s rules

SECTION 6 - The Myth of Jordan's Inability to Deal with 80s Teams, and the Truth About Expansion

- Looking at how Jordan did against the 80s teams and why expansion did not make it easier to win championships

SECTION 7 - "Jordan Played Weak Competition in the 80s/90s"

- Proof that Jordan's Competition was 80s-quality and far better than the 2000s era

SECTION 8 - The Myth that Jordan Was Not As Valuable to His Teams' Success

- Looking at the truth of how the Bulls did without Jordan, and how other great teams did without their stars.

SECTION 9 - "Jordan Got All the Calls"

- Did Jordan really get any more special treatment than other superstars? Nope.

SECTION 10 - Wilt Chamberlain: Great, but Far From the Greatest

- Exposing the myths behind the great, but misunderstood, Wilt Chamberlain

SECTION 11 - The "Lebron is a 6-8 250 Freight Train and too Big/Strong/Fast to be Guarded in the 80s/90s era" Myth

- Looking at how Lebron got locked down by defenders of the 2000s era and comparing them to the vastly superior 80s/90s

SECTION 12 - Lebron: The Most Overrated Defender of All-Time

- Destroying one of the media's biggest misconceptions regarding Lebron's solid but vastly overrated defense

SECTION 13 - "Lebron Doesn't Have Enough Help, and No One Can Carry a Team Like Him"

- Lebron fans think no player in history could succeed if their teammates don't step up, and that Lebron is the only one who has carried a team on his back. Is that really the case?

SECTION 14 - Jordan vs Lebron: The Truth

- The real Jordan vs Lebron comparison

SECTION 15 - Jordan vs Kobe: The Truth

- The real Jordan vs Kobe comparison

SECTION 16 - Jordan (and Hakeem) vs Kareem

- Kareem is great, but he is not even the greatest center of all-time, let alone the greatest of all-time.

SECTION 17 - The Truth about Michael Jordan Without Scottie Pippen

- The full context behind Jordan's struggles without Pippen

SECTION 18 - Michael Jordan's Wizards Years

- A look at how Jordan turned the Wizards around before his knee injury caught up to him

SECTION 19 - The Case for Jordan as the Best Perimeter Defender of All-Time

- Looking at Jordan's defensive impact in detail, both as a team player and 1 on 1 defender

SECTION 20 - Why Jordan Would Accomplish More In Cleveland and Miami than LeBron

- Looking at the strong evidence supporting that Jordan would have achieved more than what LeBron has in Cleveland and Miami 

SECTION 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon: The Greatest Center of All-Time
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the best center of all-time, and there is strong evidence to prove it

SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Chris Paul is an extremely overrated playoff performer and defender, and isn't even a top 5 PG of his own era, let alone all-time

SECTION 23 - Kevin Johnson: The Most Underrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Kevin Johnson is an extremely underrated and under-appreciated point guard, who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and considered a top-10 point guard of all-time

SECTION 24 - The Three Greatest Playoff Runs of All-Time
- Analyzing the three greatest individual playoff runs in NBA history

SECTION 25 - The Worst Finals Performances of All-Time
- Analyzing the worst performances in NBA Finals history

SECTION 26 - Jordan vs Russell
- Comparing the two players who won the most championships as the best player on their team

SECTION 27 - The Five Greatest Coaches of All-Time
- Taking a look at the greatest coaches in NBA history

SECTION 28 - The Least Deserving Finals MVPs of All-Time
- Taking a look at the players who least deserved to win their Finals MVPs

SECTION 29 - Refuting 10 Myths About Michael Jordan
- Refuting certain myths about Jordan, as well as abridging of some of the main points in earlier sections for easier reference.

SECTION 30 - The 20 Greatest Conference Finals Runs of All-Time
- Ranking the 20 greatest playoff runs in which a player played 3 rounds before losing prior to the NBA Finals

SECTION 31 - The 1970s: The Weakest Decade of the NBA's Post-Infancy
- Why the 1970s was the weakest decade of any era from 1960-present

SECTION 32 - The 10 Worst Supporting Casts on NBA Finals Teams (1960-Present)
- Examining the worst supporting casts on teams that reached the NBA Finals

SECTION 33 - The 10 Greatest Rookie Playoff Runs of All-Time
- The most impressive playoff runs in which rookies led their team to at least one series win