Forget LeBron…Could Michael Jordan Even Beat Kevin Durant?

Feb 11, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after a 3 point shot against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Conclusion

Part of what makes these questions so exciting is that they obviously can never be answered – Jordan (and his devoted followers) can claim whatever they want and it won’t make a difference.

But the comparisons won’t – and shouldn’t – ever stop.

It’s part of the illusion of Jordan that he was unstoppable, one fabricated by his on-court production just as much as it was marketed by the NBA in order to create a brand acceptable to the most peripheral of fans. There was (no pun intended) an “air” about him during his playing days that will likely never be matched.

This, if anything, could be the ultimate factor that would keep Durant from beating him in a game of one-on-one. Jordan, the hero of so many of today’s players, has achieved a mythic status that is hard to compete against.

But take that all way with some sort of time-travel device that also wipes away Durant’s memories of Jordan, the legend.

A 25- or 26-year-old Jordan meets with same-aged Durant in the midst of last year’s MVP season. No knowledge of each other’s skills, game or attitude – just two players with a lot to prove and never having one a NBA championship.

Jordan, just under 200 lbs. and standing several inches shorter than Durant, marvels at how this freakishly-long and tall player just comfortably drains a string of 24-foot shots.

Jordan tries to regain a mental edge by exploding from the free throw line for a thunderous dunk. Nice, thinks Durant, but it ain’t nothing I haven’t seen before.

The game begins, the shots go up…is it really that hard to imagine that Durant would win? Maybe the more relevant question is that when stripped of all the narratives and you compare these two players, in terms of size, speed and ability, is there any way that Durant could ever lose?

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