One of the biggest topics in the NBA right now is if it should retire Michael Jordan’s number 23 all around the league. This topic was brought up after the showdown between Cleveland and Miami/Lebron and Wade, when LeBron told a reporter that he was going to change is number (23) in memory of Jordan. This sparked a league wide debate that may go on until Jordan’s number is retired.

When I think about the greatest player who has ever played basketball, I think of Jordan. I’m a huge Lakers fan and Magic was my idol growing up in the 80s, but Jordan was the Vulcanite basketball player. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched vintage games of a young Magic and young Bird dazzle the crowd, but nobody intimidated players like Jordan did. His track record speaks for itself, 6x NBA champion, 6x Finals MVP, 5x regular season MVP, 14x All-Star, and 2x gold medal winner. These impressive numbers that got Jordan into the Hall of Fame, but is it good enough to retire his jersey?

The question I have is, what makes Jordan so special that he gets his number retired? Jordan may have been one of the greatest players of all-time, but what did he do that made a major impact on the game? I look at Major League Baseball and their retirement of Jackie Robinson’s number 42. That was special because he was the first black player to play in the Major Leagues. Jordan didn’t make a significant attributes to the NBA, so why does he deserve to have his number retired?

We seem to forget about Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd and Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, the first three black players allowed to play in the NBA. I think they should have their jerseys retired before Jordan, and in my opinion, I think Jordan should set up a petition for the retirement of these three NBA heroes.

Another player who deserves to have his number changed is Bill Russell. Did we forget that he was the first professional black coach in the history of American sports? Did we forget that he has 11 championship rings? How can the NBA not retire Russell’s number, he’s made more of an impact than Jordan. I hope the NBA doesn’t retire Jordan’s number because doesn’t deserve it and you can quote me on that.

- The Wanna-Be Sports Guy

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Tags | Basketball, Hall of Fame, lakers, larry bird, magic johnson, michael jordan, NBA