Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time

To end this debate, I will refute a few of my opponent's last comments and then make my closing remarks. Wilt got assists because he stopped scoringThis is true. However, it does not take away from Wilt's greatness. As I said last round, Wilt stopped scoring as much because he was asked to by his coach to get others involved more and focus more on defense. As such, his scoring went down, but his assists, rebounding, and blocks went up. Mainly even though his shots went down every other stat of his improved. I certainly do not think this is a negative. Most importantly, his team won more games! They had a dominant season, only losing four games through the first half of the season. That is downright incredible, and attests to Wilt's greatness. He was able to put aside his own personal success for the success of his team. My opponent also claims that centers were told to shoot the ball, however, this is not true. At that time, center's were mostly used for blocking and rebounding. It wasn't until Wilt that there were any scoring center's in the league; he actually revolutionized the position[1].Center's have higher shooting percentages than guardsThis is also true, However, when you look at the difference between the shooting percentage of the players and their competition, you'll see the difference. Jordan's highest field goal percentage for a season was .539 - great, but doable. Just last year, Steve Nash had a season field goal percentage of .532, which is just under Jordan's. And in 2006, Tony Parker had a season field goal percentage of .548![2]. Again, Jordan's shooting was great, but still doable. Meanwhile, Wilt's highest field goal percentage for a season (.727) has never been broken, or even come close to! Also take into account at that time players actually had lower percentages than the more efficient scorers of today. Wilt's rival and the most accomplished NBA player of all time, Bill Russell, shot just .440![3] Closing RemarksI won't go into MVP awards or NBA Finals wins, because neither of those things determine greatness. MVP awards at that time were voted for by the players, and many did not like Wilt, both for his dominance on the court and his personality off of it (remember, this is the guy who claims to have slept with over 20,000 women).Meanwhile, Jordan was basically the face of the NBA for his time at a time where MVP was voted for by the media, not the players. Of course Jordan would win. He was marketed everywhere by the NBA and Nike, and still remains a popular brand even today. Likewise final win determine on how good your team is, which is why players like LeBron couldn't win in Cleveland despite being the best player of our time.So then, what exactly determines greatness? I make the case that it lies in two factors1. Stats2. Impact on the gameSo let's examine these factors.Stats - Basically for a player to be "the greatest" implies that they have a level of talent and performance that will never be seen again or topped. Let's look at the 5 main statistical categories recorded by the league as an evaluation of a player's performance: points, assists, steals, rebounds, blocks Jordan's field goal percentage has been topped many times by Wilt Chamberlain. Of course they played different positions, but as I pointed out earlier, it has also been topped by Tony Parker, who is also a guard like Jordan. Wilt Chamberlain's field goal percentage has never been topped. Jordan's points per game has also been topped 4 times by Wilt. Wilt's points per game has also never been topped. Also note that guards usually have the highest points per game in the league. Jordan averaged less assists than Wilt, even though assists is a category dominated almost exclusively by guards. Jordan's assists per game have been topped many times and were not that impressive. Wilt's assists per game has never been topped by a big man Steals were not recorded in Wilt's era, but Jordan's career steals and steals per game have all been topped. Rebounds, Jordan's rebounding was not that impressive, and have been topped by other guards. Wilt holds the record for most rebounds in a game, most career rebounds, and most rebounds per game. NBA analysts agree that none of those records will ever be broken. Blocks were also not recorded in Wilt's era, but most experts agree that Wilt would have shattered current NBA blocking records With this, it is obvious that while Jordan simply put up great, but attainable numbers, Wilt put up outstanding and unattainable numbers. Additionally, the only stats that are really impressive by Jordan are his scoring numbers (points per game, field goal percentage)! However, as I pointed out, there are 5 main categories. To call someone the greatest for only being a great scorer is simply not factual and ignores the other aspects of basketball. Wilt played great all-around basketball, getting points, blocks, rebounds, and even assists! While doing much more on the court than Jordan did, Wilt still managed to put up better or comparable scoring numbers.Impact- As I pointed out earlier, Wilt had a profound impact on the game of basketball. He revolutionized the center position into a formidable offensive weapon. He set unprecedented records. But also, he changed the game forever, creating " The Chamberlain rules"[4]. The NBA actually changed four rules to try and stop Wilt from being so dominant! If this doesn't attest to his greatness, I don't know what does! So what impact did Jordan have besides the obvious popularization of the game of basketball? Not much. He obviously wasn't so dominant that the NBA felt that they needed to change rules to combat him. And he didn't (by himself) set any unbreakable records, either. In fact his most impressive accomplishment was winning 6 titles, a feat which of course, had more to do with the team he had around him. But even that record was broken by another player, Bill Russell. who almost double Jordan's number of titles with 11. With this, it is clear that overall, Wilt Chamberlain was certainly the greatest basketball player that ever lived. While the case can be made that Michael Jordan was the greatest scorer who ever lived, basketball is not just about scoring. It is about defense: getting blocks and steals; it is about rebounding, and it is about getting the ball to your team mates. While Wilt scored just as much as Jordan, with their career ppg's being only .05 apart, Wilt dominanted Jordan in ever other category, including assists. And none of them were close. I urge you to vote against the notion that Michael Jordan is the greater basketball player, and thank my opponent for a great debate.Thank you.[1]http://www.sportslegendsclassic.com...[2]http://espn.go.com...[3]http://www.basketball-reference.com...[4]http://webcache.googleusercontent.com...