Despite winning six titles in eight seasons as a player, Michael Jordan is worried that NBA stars choosing to play together has hurt the competitive balance of the league
“I think it’s going to hurt the overall aspect of the league from a competitive standpoint,” Jordan told Cigar Aficionado magazine. “You’re going to have one or two teams that are going to be great, and another 28 teams that are going to be garbage. Or they’re going to have a tough time surviving in the business environment.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver was amused by the comments, and said on ESPN’s Mike & Mike that Jordan’s is likely just frustrated that the Charlotte Hornets, the team he owns, are not exactly title favorites this year.
“I chuckled a little because this notion that maybe the most competitive athlete in the history all of sports is frustrated because his team isn’t predicted to win the championship this year,” Silver said. “So I take it with a bit of a grain of salt. And also, here’s a guy who in his last six full seasons with the Chicago Bulls, won the championship. So at the time everybody defined that Bulls team as a ‘super team.’ I think there’s a recognition that in this sport, with combinations of certain players, they are going to be superior. To me, as I said towards the end of last season, we should celebrate excellence.”
Silver also questioned the notion that the Warriors are a super team in the traditional sense, as they have built their juggernaut squad largely through the draft.
“Before we talk about breaking up a truly great team, especially one that was largely built through the draft — I get it (Kevin) Durant came as a free agent — but when you have Steph (Curry) as the seventh pick, Klay (Thompson) as the 11th, Draymond (Green) at the 35th pick, Steve Kerr doing an incredible job, Bob Myers as the GM,” Silver said. “To me, it raises the bar for all teams in the league and it’s something that rather then teams sitting around and saying ‘We can’t possibly compete against the Golden State Warriors, you’d like to think the collection of the very best players in the world on the 29 other teams would have the Warriors in their sights.”
The Warriors begin the regular season on Tuesday when they host the new look Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena.