When most are asked who they think is the greatest player in the history of the National Basketball Association, one of two names are mentioned. If LeBron James, who is still going strong at 40 years old with the Los Angeles Lakers, is not the player named, then chances are the talent identified was Michael Jordan.
Perhaps basketball’s first global megastar, Jordan was drafted third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft and made an immediate impact with the Chicago Bulls, being named an All-Star in his debut year. Across the 1980s, Jordan recorded staggering individual numbers, though the shooting guard was unable to guide his franchise to a trophy.
Entering the 1990s, Chicago had been beaten thrice over by the Detroit Pistons in the play-offs towards the end of the previous decade. Alongside Jordan, though, the Bulls had built an impressive core of players, including the likes of Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant. In 1991, the year Jordan won his second of five Most Valuable Player awards, he finally won his first NBA Championship.
This victory was the first of three consecutive title wins, as Jordan led Chicago’s continued dominance of the league until abruptly retiring in 1993. After a near-two-year absence from the league, Jordan returned in early 1995 and in his first full season back, guided the Bulls, now with the eccentric but brilliant Dennis Rodman as part of their core, to yet another Larry O’Brien trophy.
1996 marked the second of two three-peats for Jordan, who won yet another three successive championships up to 1998. The superstar retired once more after that final title, returning for a third time in 2001 until, after two years with the Washington Wizards, Jordan brought his illustrious career to an end for good.
Michael Jordan Career Stats
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Points per Game
Rebounds per Game
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Famed for not only his quality, but his mentality, Jordan has shared a number of opinions since retiring from basketball. In 2009, as part of Jordan’s speech during his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he revealed which basketball figure he thought shared his competitive spirit.
‘Challenged Me Every Time’
Legend was full of praise for fellow icon
In his induction speech, Jordan understandably named many figures who had shaped his career in one way or another. One such name that the former shooting guard mentioned was Pat Riley who, at the time of writing, is within his 30th year as president of the Miami Heat. Speaking about Riley, Jordan said:
“I think, in all honesty, you (Pat Riley) are just as competitive as I am. Even from a coaching standpoint. You’ve challenged me, every time I’ve played the Knicks, the Heat. Any time I played against you, you had Jordan-stoppers on your team. You had John Starks, who I love. You even had my friend Charles Oakley saying we can’t go to lunch because Pat doesn’t believe in fraternising between the two of us.”
Riley spent nine years playing basketball, retiring in 1976 and entering into coaching soon after. In 1979, Riley became an assistant coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and two years later rose to the position of head coach, which he would hold for nine years.
In that time, Riley ushered in and oversaw the success of the “Showtime” Lakers. A team built on fast, transitional offence with stars Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leading the Lakers to four NBA titles under Riley’s guidance. Riley stepped down from his role in 1990 after losing to the Phoenix Suns in the play-offs, a year in which, rather ironically, he was named NBA Coach of The Year for the first time.
After a year away from coaching, Riley returned to the league as head coach of the New York Knicks in 1991. Though he won no titles with the franchise, Riley’s side were facing off against Jordan’s Bulls in the play-offs for most of his tenure. In 1993, he was named Coach of The Year for a second time, a year prior to reaching the NBA Finals which he would lose to the Houston Rockets.
1995 saw Riley move to Miami, where working as president and head coach gave him complete control of the franchise. Though he has exclusively worked in the former of those two roles since 2008, this transition did not occur before Riley won the 2006 Championship as coach.
Riley has only found further success as a dedicated executive, being the man to bring Chris Bosh and LeBron James in 2010’s free agency who, alongside Dwyane Wade, won two-straight trophies in 2012 and 2013. Since then, Riley has maintained Miami’s position as a competitive franchise.
An epithet such as “The Godfather” can only be earned by a long-serving, successful figure in a sport like basketball, something that Riley has proven he is. With his accomplishments and longevity, it is clear to see why Jordan felt Riley was one of the only people, if not the only person, to be as competitive as himself.
( All stats are fromBasketball Referenceand are correct as of 29/07/2025 )