Michael Jordan had a pretty good and decent big-three with the Chicago Bulls. He had great contributors like Bill Cartwright, John Paxson, Scottie Pippen, Charles Oakley, and Horace Grant.
But the greatest to ever play the game of basketball has never had a true big three. Neither did Magic Johnson and neither did Larry Bird. Sure, you can say that.
But it isn’t as ultimate as what the Miami Heat have right now with three biggest superstars in the league with Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade. That’s the ultimate big three.
And they’re striving for not just three, four, or five championships but are aiming for seven, eight, or nine. Their goals are set and they plan to dominate the Eastern Conference.
What was Jordan’s opinion out of all of this? What would he have done if he were in this situation back when he was playing?
“There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team,’ ” Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. “But that’s … things are different. I can’t say that’s a bad thing. It’s an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.”
Charles Barkley also threw his dime in the conversation.
“He’ll never be Jordan,” Barkley told 790 the Ticket in Miami. “This clearly takes him out of the conversation. He can win as much as he wants to.
“There would have been something honorable about staying in Cleveland and trying to win it as ‘The Man’ … LeBron, if he would’ve in Cleveland, and if he could’ve got a championship there, it would have been over the top for his legacy, just one in Cleveland. No matter how many he wins in Miami, it clearly is Dwyane Wade’s team.”
But back to what Jordan had said. The main statement in what he said was when he talked about “never calling up Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.” And then brought me to something.
What if Jordan called up Larry and Magic? What if they all teamed up to make the best big three in NBA history?
Between all the three players, they have a combined 14 championships. Everything else amazing in between and are all Hall-of-Famers.
I can’t imagine what that big three would be like. What do you guys think? What if Jordan did call up Bird and Johnson?
Share your thoughts.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
no team could have afforded all three of those players. Magic and Bird had already won titles before the Michael Jordan era. What incentive would they have to play together
The best 3 was Jerry West Elgn Baylor and Wilt. Too bad they had the Celtics at their very best each year. Mr. Clutch was the player around the ball. Elgin was a magician in the air and Wilt is my standard for a NBA center (strong, fearless and athletic-he played for the harlem Globetrotters and could high jump 7 ft). If they would have came together at LeBron's and Wade's ages the NBA would never be the same.
Larry Bird did have a big three in himself, Kevin McHale (a great low post scorer), and Robert Parish (an underrated center who was an exceptional passer). Also: how can you call Bosh/LBJ/Wade the three biggest superstarts? Whatever happed to guys like Kobe and Kevin Durant? Heck, even guys like Amare Stoudemire and Pau Gasol should be considered better than Bosh; at least they've won significant playoff games.