Amarpreet Pannu Professor Abuan Writing 10 1 April 2013
The Chosen One, the Black Mamba or Air Jordan?
In every sport there has always been someone labeled “the greatest of all time.” For baseball they say Babe Ruth, in golf Jack Nicklaus, football Jerry Rice and for basketball Michael Jordan is the greatest. Each sport has their greatest player but is it possible for these legends to fall. For basketball, now, there is some difficulty in determining who the best player is of all time. Whoever follows basketball knows who Michael Jordan is and what he has done but there are two people that are giving a Jordan a run for his top spot of greatest of all time. Those two players are Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. Since the beginnings of each Lebron and Kobe’s career they have always been compared to Michael Jordan. Some say Michael Jordan will always be the best, some say that Kobe is better than Lebron and Jordan, and some say in the end Lebron will be the best. This is a difficult thing to decide who the best player is but in my opinion I believe that Michael Jordan will remain as the best basketball player to ever live. This question always lingers in basketball fans mouth, who is the best basketball player? It is finally time to settle this dispute among basketball fans and finally show that Michael Jordan is the best out of these three.
To determine that Jordan is the best basketball player I will break these three great superstars in categories from points scored, assists, and rebounds per game. An assist is given to a player who passes the ball to a teammate that leads to a score by field goal and a rebound is the act of successfully gaining the possession of the basketball after a missed field goal. I will also
Commented [1]: Mariana Abuan:
Amarpreet, if I were to grade this right now it would be an 85. This is mainly due to mechanical errors, some deviation in discourse/style, and because at times this paper seems overwhelmed with numbers. You have good figures and you seem to be organizing them in a logical way. However, perhaps simplifying these for your reader with a table/chart or two might be easier for your reader to follow at times. Strong second draft Commented [2]: Mariana Abuan:
run-on/parallelism error Commented [3]: Mariana Abuan: ,
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Commented [5]: Mariana Abuan: unneeded
Commented [6]: Mariana Abuan: both
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Commented [8]: Mariana Abuan:
I kind of wish you would find a synonym for this. It's very repetitive
Commented [9]: Mariana Abuan: unneeded
Commented [10]: Mariana Abuan: greatest (?)
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Commented [12]: Mariana Abuan: good plan
break down their physical capabilities like height and weight to see who has the best body type. And to conclude I will also compare the numerous feats and trophies each player has received over their time in the National Basketball Association or NBA for short. In the end I will compare each player overall and show how Jordan is the best player of all time.
To begin the first player I am going to breakdown is the star that is the youngest, Lebron James. James first came to the NBA from high school and declared for the draft in 2003, chosen first overall in the draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron James currently is in his tenth season and always has been compared to “superstar Michael Jordan...” (Belmont). These comparisons became “common and some sports writer began calling James, “The Chosen One,” indicating the hope that…” one day this player will be labeled the best of all time (Belmont). Lebron standing at “six feet eight inches and weighing in at two hundred and fifty pounds” is being called the “best physical specimen in sports by some analysts” (Belmont). To be called the “best physical specimen in sports” is an amazing feat on it own and for him to be called this means only one thing: how good is he? Over his ten year span Lebron, since entering NBA, has been one of the best players year after year. Throughout his career he has averaged twenty-seven point six points, six point nine assist, and seven point two rebounds a game (Belmont).Lebron also has won only NBA championship ring in his career which occurred in the twenty twelve season. He has also been named “NBA most valuable player” three times and has been a “NBA all star” nine times in his career (Belmont). To be named an all star means that you are invited to an event each year that the NBA holds which gathers the best NBA players around the league. But to be named the most valuable player, or MVP for short, three times is amazing feat that only a handful of players in the NBA has done. The list awards don’t stop here Lebron also has won a bronze medal and two gold medals in the Olympics. He won the bronze medal in 2004, the gold in 2008 and in
Commented [13]: Mariana Abuan: ,
At this point I am going to stop pointing out mechanical errors. So far this essay has more than I would like to see. For your final draft I will expect this to be proofread/edited thoroughly
2012. No matter the comparisons Lebron has already achieved many great things in his career which make him an amazing individual in today’s sports. Enough of Lebron it is time to move on to the second player on our list.
Next is Kobe Bryant, who is the second youngest out of the three players. Kobe Bryant standing at six foot six inches tall and weighing at two hundred and five pounds is the smallest player out of the three (Bryant). Kobe also coming out of high school like Lebron was the thirteenth pick overall by the Charlotte Hornets but was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Now Kobe Bryant in his fifteenth season in the league has done some amazing things in the sport of basketball. For one Kobe has been crowned a NBA champion five times in his career which is far more than Lebron has won (Bryant). To go along with those five championship Kobe has been nicknamed the Black Mamba, a deadly snake, because of how quick he strikes and attacks at opposing teams. Kobe also has been named an all star fifteen times in his career and has been the MVP of the all star games four times (Bryant). Kobe also won the MVP of the league in the year 2008 (Bryant). Besides being a MVP Kobe has also lead the whole league in scoring points per game two years in row from 2006 to 2007. Throughout his career Kobe has averaged “25.3 points per game in his career, along with 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.5 steals…” (Bryant). He also one time scored eighty one points in a single game (Bryant)! Eighty one points in a game ranks second in all time in the NBA (Bryant). Kobe has been one of the best players each year and recently has passed the thirty thousand point mark in his career. Only a handful of players have passed this mark in their NBA lifetime and for him to do that it will mark him down as one of the best basketball players to ever play. To go along with these amazing achievement Kobe has also won an Olympic gold medal in 2008 (Bryant). Overall Kobe has done some amazing
Commented [14]: Mariana Abuan:
your discourse seems suddenly too casual here Commented [15]: Mariana Abuan:
Maybe it would help if you said exactly what their respective ages are. It might help illustrate the significance of their individual achievements (?)
Commented [16]: Mariana Abuan: ""
things in his basketball career and has become one of the best of all time. Now we're done with the Black Mamba it is time to move on to the best, Air Jordan.
The last player I am going to break down is considered to be the best player of all time by many sports analyst and writers, Michael Jordan. Jordan weighed in at six foot six and two hundred and twenty pounds. Unlike Lebron and Kobe, Jordan came out of North Carolina College being drafted third in his draft. Over his career Jordan averaged 30.6 points a game, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assist a game (23). Jordan averages of points “ranks the highest in the NBA” (23). Jordan had many nicknames but the nickname that stood out the most was Air Jordan because of the way he was able to stay in the air, which looked like he was gliding over defenders to score points. He was also named to the all star game an astounding ten times in his career (23). Jordan won the NBA championship a staggering six times in his career (23). Each time being named the finals MVP in each championship run (23). He was also crowned the NBA scoring leader ten times in his career which stands as a record (23). To go along with the scoring record Jordan won the MVP five times in his career. Another record that Jordan holds is he that he “scored at least 20 points” in sixty consecutive playoff games (23). Jordan is also “second most in NBA history” with two thousand five hundred and fourteen steals in his career (23). A steal is when a defensive player causes the ball to be turned over to the defensive side either by deflecting or taking away the ball. Jordan statistics are amazing which also include two Olympic gold medals in his career (23). Jordan unlike Kobe and Lebron was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame after his career was over. Jordan became an iconic name in the sport of basketball and was the biggest sports superstar in the world in the nineties. He transformed the game of basketball and made it as big as it is today.
Commented [17]: Mariana Abuan: This is kind of like the ending to your previous paragraph. Your language gets to relaxed/familiar. Not working as the best way to transition for me
Commented [18]: Mariana Abuan: repetitive
Commented [19]: Mariana Abuan:
I'm not fluent in basketball terms--what does this mean?
Commented [20]: Mariana Abuan: " "
Now that I have broken down each player by their respective stats and trophies they won it is time to show who how Jordan is the greatest basketball player. So let’s go by each category, first let’s start off with point per game. Lebron averaged twenty-seven point six points, while Kobe averaged twenty five point three. Jordan on the other hand averaged thirty point six points a game winning this category. Moving on to rebounds per game, Lebron averaged seven, Kobe averaged five and Jordan averaged six. Looks like Lebron won this category. Next to move on is the assist category. Lebron averaged almost seven a game, Kobe averaged four a game, and last Jordan averaged five a game. Once again Lebron won this category. Next are single awards and trophies. When it comes down to all Jordan won in every single category from most NBA championships, to MVPs, and I tie in gold medals. The only area that Jordan lost in was most all star appearances which Kobe won and physical appearances which Lebron won. But besides this when it came down to who’s the best in basketball the winner is Air Jordan.
Works Cited
“23 Number On Number 23.” Sports Illustrated (2009): 84-87. Academic Search Complete.Web. 21 March, 2013.
Belmont, and Belcourt Biographies. Lebron James:An Unauthorized Biography. Belmont & Belcourt Books, 2012.
Bryant, Kobe. “Kobe Bryant.” Commented [21]: Mariana Abuan:
This citation is incomplete (and seems like it might be really biased)
