Today Michael Jordan will officially be in the NBA Hall of Fame, time to take one last look at the man most call the G.O.A.T - greatest of all time.

If you want the short version of the story, then you simply need to know that Michael Jordan is the greatest athlete that has ever been documented in the history of mankind. If you want to know why, then read on.

Michael Jordan was not one of those huge young prospects that are built up and trained from the early ages. In fact, it took until Jordan’s junior year to make his high school’s junior varsity team. Even during his stretch at the University of North Carolina, he played along such greats that he was never made out to be a legend in the making.

On draft day, the Chicago Bulls picked up Michael Jordan with the third overall pick, right after a player by the name of Sam Bowie that will stand in the history of sports as the worst decision ever. As you see, Michael Jordan never had it all planned out for him. He worked his way into his varsity team, he worked at being successful in his college team, and he had by no means his NBA legacy all secured.

Michael Jordan’s Early NBA Career

Michael Jordan didn’t exactly impress everyone on the get-go either. Sure he scored a lot and excited everyone with his athletic play but with a poor supporting cast and still learning ways to lead and win, he was still not proven.

Michael Jordan spent many seasons getting beaten up by the Bad Boys of Detroit and also taking punishment off the court with critics claiming that he could never be a winner. He played when he was injured, he played until he bled, he played his heart out and for 99.9999% of the world, that would have been more than good enough.

But this is Michael Jordan we are talking about. You see, to really understand the greatness of Michael Jordan it is these intricate aspects that we need to analyze. Sure we can look at his flawless fadeaway jumpshot, we could look at his grace and his sheer athleticism – but that would be missing the point of Michael Jordan. There has been and there will be many players with these qualities in the NBA until the end of time.

Yet, the point here is a constant desire to improve and excel. Sure everyone of us would like to improve ourselves and become better people in every area possible. But how many of us, when there is no one better than us in the entire world, strives to improve ourselves like we are the worst at it in the world. Michael Jordan was the most skilled player in the NBA, and he practiced and attempted to improve like he was the worst player in the world. That is truly astounding.

There is no point getting into the details of the rest of Michael Jordan’s career. The 6 championship rings, the MVP’s, the gold medal, the all-star games, and the countless highlights, 50 point games, and game winners.

Michael Jordan came into a world and turned it upside its head. He create moves, he created a leadership style, he reinveted the game, he reinvented what human beings could achieve.

Sure today you have the LeBron James and the Kobe Bryant’s who are seemingly just as dominant and impressive as he is. But those players never transformed the sport like he did. They haven’t done all the things he has with what little he had to work with. Jordan is the pioneer of a champion. Sure the Wilt Chamberlain’s, the Larry Bird’s, the Magic Johnson’s were seemingly just as great – but none of them represented what a champion was the way Michael Jordan did.

An athlete should not only be judged by the amount of wins, championships, or accolades he has collected over the years. Just as important is the mindset, the leadership, the innovation, the pioneering, and the evolution of what a human can achieve. He represented humans in a way no one has ever done before – showing on the grandest stage how a single person can beat out the entire world.