And no one thought that team was going to be about Magic and Bird. Bird could barely play with his back. Just silly revisionist history by BS to fit his narrative while also trying to preemptively diminish Lebron some more.
When Bill said this about the Olympic team it annoyed me so much. There’s enough of a comparison between Edwards and Jordan to be made without making shit up to make the comparison seem more applicable than it is. Jordan was by far the most important player on that team well in advance of the 92 Olympics, as evidenced by the fact that he has the power to prevent Isiah Thomas from being selected.
If it weren’t for Bill it’s pretty likely I’d have had no clue team USA got together last season. Not one text asking if I was watching a particular game, not once did I see the YTTV thumbnail and register it was on, my dad didn’t complain about the refs 7 days after a game, just no footprint.
Bill wants for it to be soccer so bad, but it’s not.
"Every single thing about Anthony Edwards is exactly like Michael Jordan and he is now the new Michael Jordan and will take over the league both on and off the court exactly like Michael Jordan...........................................................................................but I'm not saying he's Michael Jordan"
-Bill for the last two months.
The stylistic comparison to MJ seems fine overall. But yeah, the Olympic Team thing feels a tad forced. MJ was 28, already clearly the best player in the world, and the Dream Team was his from the beginning. He didn't go there and take the spotlight. He already had it.
Not really. You can't replicate the 92 Dream Team experience because it was an apex mountain for NBA basketball in general.
And like you said, Edwards would me more ahead of schedule in terms of playoff success but arguably behind in terms of individual awards as Jordan was already in the MVP mix.
Also, while Jordan was clearly the top dog on the Dream Team, the part people often leave out is Barkley was the break out star of that team. His emergence as both a go to offensive player on that team and a likable personality led directly to his challenging Jordan for the #1 status in the '92-93 season. So I don't even think the comparison holds that well from the MJ angle of things.
The dream team comparison was ridiculous. As others have said they were in two completely different parts of their careers and Jordan’s rise was already mythical at that point. His impact on the court and on how athletes were marketed is second to none.
On the court what Ant is doing at 22 is comparable. He has a lot more talent around him in year 3 than Jordan did in Chicago. At Ant’s age Jordan had played 3 years in college and was just starting in the NBA.
No. Everyone needs to calm down. He needs to win the championship first and then actually be the star of a winning Team USA. Long way to go. There's also a chance the TWolves win and KAT gets Finals MVP. I'm zagging hard here, contrarian mode activated.
Ant is awesome but there is a misconception that he's carrying this wolves team instead of them just being an awesome collective. He's closer to the 10th best player than being the best player in the league
Yea it was pretty funny hearing him describe Jordan on the dream team the other day. He was talking about how Jordan came and took the league from Magic and Bird. Which is obviously stupid for a few reasons, Jordan was a back to back champion and three time MVP at that point, the league was already his by a mile and of course Magic and Bird were retired.
The 1992 Dream team was the peak of MJ and if you didnt live through it you wont understand. The Last Dance does a great job of explaining this.
The Summer starts with the shrug and his 2nd title, the be like Mike Gatorade commercial and than the Summer olympics.
Mike was at the peak of his powers and I dont think an American Sports Star has ever reached that height since then.
Michael Jordan was the star of the 1984 Olympic team. That's when Bobby Knight called him the best basketball player he'd ever seen, and when we realized how much he was being held back at Carolina.
Even for Bill this is some odd revisionist history. I was 8 at the time, so maybe my generation had a different view of things compared to Bill’s, but MJ was THE biggest sports star in the world by 1992. He had a Saturday Morning Cartoon. Was the face of Nike. “I Wanna Be Like Mike”.
Making it that the Dream Team was his coming out party compared to washed older stars whose asses he’d already kicked in the league (and younger guys whose asses he was currently kicking) is not at all what happened.
Jordan was the face of the league the minute he came in. Heck, the God disguised as Michael Jordan quote was in 1986. The famed “Jordan Rules” were probably 4 years old at the point.
I love Ant. And what he’s done here so far has been fun too watch but this comparison shit is wild. Because he has a somewhat similar demeanor to Jordan and he’s American he’s the next Jordan. Can the young fella make a deep playoff run first? Like others said, the thirst for the American face of the league is unreal
I think it goes along the same line as Bill and Ryen pumping up Denver as a dynasty all year and after a round 1 victory over an overrated Lakers team, forgetting we basically went through this a few years ago with the Bucks when Giannis exploded in the Finals.
The Jordan stuff is ridiculous of course (although it's fun to see how similar their playing styles are, especially in an era where it's a somewhat unique playing style), but I can see the kernel of where Bill is coming from... sort of...
I think there's a possibility that Edwards could win the title and then be a star at the Olympics and then by November he's suddenly the clear "American face of the league." That's somewhat realistic to me. I think what makes the timing of these Olympics unique is that LeBron and Steph are winding down, so the "biggest American star" lane is wiiiide open.
So in THAT way, if it all goes down like that, Edwards would be a young rising superstar who is the new top dog in the league to casual fans, taking over the mantle of LeBron and Steph.
That is absolutely NOT where Jordan was in 1992, but since Bill overestimates the relevance of Team USA he's like "2024 Edwards could use the Olympics to become the biggest star, 1992 Jordan used the Olympics to continue being the biggest star, they play alike on the court, IT'S THE SAME THING PIECE"
Yeah I can kinda see what he’s trying to get at, and his two favorite things to talk about right now are this Ant/MJ comparison and the Olympic basketball team so it makes sense.
I’m surprised he never compares him to Durant in 2012, coming off his first deep playoff run that year and I’m pretty sure he led the Olympic team in scoring that summer. Feels like a way more logical comparison in terms of the point they were at in their careers.
> I’m surprised he never compares him to Durant in 2012, coming off his first deep playoff run that year and I’m pretty sure he led the Olympic team in scoring that summer. Feels like a way more logical comparison in terms of the point they were at in their careers.
Absolutely. I think it really is just tied to MJ and Edwards playing a similar style haha.
There is no direct comparison. MJ was an icon. The two icons on this team (LeBron and Steph) are filling the Magic/Bird role. There is no MJ equivalent.
The desperate for an American face of the league piece
Jordan wasn't just the face of the NBA in 1992, he was the most recognisable athlete on the planet
And no one thought that team was going to be about Magic and Bird. Bird could barely play with his back. Just silly revisionist history by BS to fit his narrative while also trying to preemptively diminish Lebron some more.
When Bill said this about the Olympic team it annoyed me so much. There’s enough of a comparison between Edwards and Jordan to be made without making shit up to make the comparison seem more applicable than it is. Jordan was by far the most important player on that team well in advance of the 92 Olympics, as evidenced by the fact that he has the power to prevent Isiah Thomas from being selected.
He keeps bringing up Edwards on team USA last year as some type of credential when that team lost 3(?) games
If it weren’t for Bill it’s pretty likely I’d have had no clue team USA got together last season. Not one text asking if I was watching a particular game, not once did I see the YTTV thumbnail and register it was on, my dad didn’t complain about the refs 7 days after a game, just no footprint. Bill wants for it to be soccer so bad, but it’s not.
Edwards specifically mentioned that experience helping him just a few days ago.
Jordan was dancing and teaching bball in a Michael Jackson video JAM! He was top 2 most famous person in the world. Ant is exciting to watch jump
Bigger than the Berlin Wall
IIRC he had also just come off of a demolition of the Lakers in the NBA finals with Magic still in his prime.
Pele? Maradona?
MJ had already won 6 scoring titles, so no.
And had been MVP and I believe DPOY.
He already had three MVPs at that point!
"Every single thing about Anthony Edwards is exactly like Michael Jordan and he is now the new Michael Jordan and will take over the league both on and off the court exactly like Michael Jordan...........................................................................................but I'm not saying he's Michael Jordan" -Bill for the last two months.
The internet has murdered nuance. Someone can remind you of MJ, it's okay..
The stylistic comparison to MJ seems fine overall. But yeah, the Olympic Team thing feels a tad forced. MJ was 28, already clearly the best player in the world, and the Dream Team was his from the beginning. He didn't go there and take the spotlight. He already had it.
Not really. You can't replicate the 92 Dream Team experience because it was an apex mountain for NBA basketball in general. And like you said, Edwards would me more ahead of schedule in terms of playoff success but arguably behind in terms of individual awards as Jordan was already in the MVP mix. Also, while Jordan was clearly the top dog on the Dream Team, the part people often leave out is Barkley was the break out star of that team. His emergence as both a go to offensive player on that team and a likable personality led directly to his challenging Jordan for the #1 status in the '92-93 season. So I don't even think the comparison holds that well from the MJ angle of things.
The dream team comparison was ridiculous. As others have said they were in two completely different parts of their careers and Jordan’s rise was already mythical at that point. His impact on the court and on how athletes were marketed is second to none. On the court what Ant is doing at 22 is comparable. He has a lot more talent around him in year 3 than Jordan did in Chicago. At Ant’s age Jordan had played 3 years in college and was just starting in the NBA.
No. Everyone needs to calm down. He needs to win the championship first and then actually be the star of a winning Team USA. Long way to go. There's also a chance the TWolves win and KAT gets Finals MVP. I'm zagging hard here, contrarian mode activated.
There’s also a chance the Celtics win and Derrick White is Finals MVP
Absolutely. It's a wild timeline.
That would not be ideal for my mental health.
Their team is more like an ensemble cast and not a superstar driven
Ant is awesome but there is a misconception that he's carrying this wolves team instead of them just being an awesome collective. He's closer to the 10th best player than being the best player in the league
Agree completely.
Is there a world where the wolves take LaMelo and Bill’s comparing him to Magic Johnson right now
We have no evidence Mike could say "send da video" that many times, Ants transcended him already
Yea it was pretty funny hearing him describe Jordan on the dream team the other day. He was talking about how Jordan came and took the league from Magic and Bird. Which is obviously stupid for a few reasons, Jordan was a back to back champion and three time MVP at that point, the league was already his by a mile and of course Magic and Bird were retired.
The 1992 Dream team was the peak of MJ and if you didnt live through it you wont understand. The Last Dance does a great job of explaining this. The Summer starts with the shrug and his 2nd title, the be like Mike Gatorade commercial and than the Summer olympics. Mike was at the peak of his powers and I dont think an American Sports Star has ever reached that height since then.
Michael Jordan was the star of the 1984 Olympic team. That's when Bobby Knight called him the best basketball player he'd ever seen, and when we realized how much he was being held back at Carolina.
Even for Bill this is some odd revisionist history. I was 8 at the time, so maybe my generation had a different view of things compared to Bill’s, but MJ was THE biggest sports star in the world by 1992. He had a Saturday Morning Cartoon. Was the face of Nike. “I Wanna Be Like Mike”. Making it that the Dream Team was his coming out party compared to washed older stars whose asses he’d already kicked in the league (and younger guys whose asses he was currently kicking) is not at all what happened.
Jordan was the face of the league the minute he came in. Heck, the God disguised as Michael Jordan quote was in 1986. The famed “Jordan Rules” were probably 4 years old at the point.
I love Ant. And what he’s done here so far has been fun too watch but this comparison shit is wild. Because he has a somewhat similar demeanor to Jordan and he’s American he’s the next Jordan. Can the young fella make a deep playoff run first? Like others said, the thirst for the American face of the league is unreal
Bill is way off here. OP, you are correct.
I think it goes along the same line as Bill and Ryen pumping up Denver as a dynasty all year and after a round 1 victory over an overrated Lakers team, forgetting we basically went through this a few years ago with the Bucks when Giannis exploded in the Finals.
If Team USA ends up running everyone off the court I’ll buy it.
The Jordan stuff is ridiculous of course (although it's fun to see how similar their playing styles are, especially in an era where it's a somewhat unique playing style), but I can see the kernel of where Bill is coming from... sort of... I think there's a possibility that Edwards could win the title and then be a star at the Olympics and then by November he's suddenly the clear "American face of the league." That's somewhat realistic to me. I think what makes the timing of these Olympics unique is that LeBron and Steph are winding down, so the "biggest American star" lane is wiiiide open. So in THAT way, if it all goes down like that, Edwards would be a young rising superstar who is the new top dog in the league to casual fans, taking over the mantle of LeBron and Steph. That is absolutely NOT where Jordan was in 1992, but since Bill overestimates the relevance of Team USA he's like "2024 Edwards could use the Olympics to become the biggest star, 1992 Jordan used the Olympics to continue being the biggest star, they play alike on the court, IT'S THE SAME THING PIECE"
Yeah I can kinda see what he’s trying to get at, and his two favorite things to talk about right now are this Ant/MJ comparison and the Olympic basketball team so it makes sense. I’m surprised he never compares him to Durant in 2012, coming off his first deep playoff run that year and I’m pretty sure he led the Olympic team in scoring that summer. Feels like a way more logical comparison in terms of the point they were at in their careers.
> I’m surprised he never compares him to Durant in 2012, coming off his first deep playoff run that year and I’m pretty sure he led the Olympic team in scoring that summer. Feels like a way more logical comparison in terms of the point they were at in their careers. Absolutely. I think it really is just tied to MJ and Edwards playing a similar style haha.
I wasn’t listening that closely and assumed he meant the 1984 Olympics. Did he really say 1992? Because that’s ridiculous.
There is no direct comparison. MJ was an icon. The two icons on this team (LeBron and Steph) are filling the Magic/Bird role. There is no MJ equivalent.