Michael Jordan was undefeated in six trips to the NBA finals, a resumè that anchors his case in the GOAT debate. Whenever he reached the biggest stage, he never left empty-handed.
According to Jason Williams, there is a way to explain MJ’s success. In an episode of “Hoopin’ N’ Hollerin’”, White Chocolate argued that the level of competition Jordan faced in the 1990s was underwhelming, making those runs less daunting than they appear in hindsight.
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Who did Mike play against?
For some reason, the topic of MJ’s competition popped up in a conversation that first started with Michael Porter, Jr. After MPJ compared his high school dominance to that of LeBron James, the panel pointed to the quality of competition as a factor, which opened the door to a broader discussion about the quality of Jordan’s opponents.
“Just like Michael Jordan. Who did he beat in the Finals? When he won the Finals, if we’re talking about lesser competition,” J-Will asked. “John Stockton, Hornacek, Craig Ehlo, Greg Ostertag, Dan Majerle. We’re talking about a bunch of white guys. Great players, but you know what I’m saying?”
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While MJ did face guys like Stockton and Hornacek (twice), as well as “Thunder Dan,” reducing that competition to a racial shorthand is lazy and completely misses the point. By that logic, LeBron James would be said to have lost to “a bunch of white guys” in 2011 (Dirk Nowitzki, J.J. Barea and Peja Stojakovic) and won titles over another group in later Finals, an argument that clearly strips away context and nuance.
If anything, ‘Black Jesus’ faced the stiffest competition during those playoff runs. He went up against 60-win teams nine times in the postseason, winning seven, including the Phoenix Suns (who had Majerle) and the Utah Jazz (who had Stockton and Hornacek).
Those teams had Charles Barkley and Karl Malone, respectively, and Stockton was the NBA’s all-time assists and steals leader for a reason. Then, there were the Los Angeles Lakers with Magic Johnson (1991), the Portland Trail Blazers with Clyde Drexler (1992), and the Seattle SuperSonics with Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton (1996).
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LeBron’s case does not erase Jordan’s
Since White Chocolate brought up (and questioned) MJ’s finals resumè, the conversation naturally shifted to James. It was mildly surprising that Williams, an old-school hooper, would weaken Jordan’s accomplishments by pointing out his competition. It’s also a topic that might put Bron in the upper hand, having beaten the greatest regular-season team of all time in the 2016 Finals.
“They’re like, ‘Oh, Bron loses.’ Do you know who he has to go or had to go against in these Finals, bro?” commented the co-host.
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While the argument made sense, leaning on that comparison does not require diminishing the Chicago Bulls icon’s opponents to make it land. Denying a title to a historically great team like the Warriors can elevate The King’s legacy without reducing Jordan’s, particularly when the latter’s title runs routinely came against squads that had cleared elite regular-season benchmarks.
If anything, the contrast highlights how different eras produce different challenges. LeBron’s defining moment came against a superteam at its peak, while Mike’s came through repeatedly navigating experienced contenders. Each faced tough competition in very different ways. What truly matters is how they handled them when it counted.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.