re: Has anyone been more dominant, more respected, more known in sports than Jordan?

Secretariat and Sea Buisciut were more well know across the world, Jordan was probably more well know in the developed parts of the world only.

I already amended. Keep your shirt on

Jordan was great, but I think people are going a little overboard in this thread. I mean, pick any given game of his career at random, and you'll see him taking 50 shot attempts in that game. Many players can score 30 points per game if they throw up 50 shots.

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Babe Ruth

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3>23

IMO Wilt Chamberlin was the most dominant athlete in his era. He once averaged 50 points and 20 boards shame for a season and forced about half dozen NBA rule changes.

Jordan was the "biggest" athlete ever however. He basically gave us modern sports marketing.

You spelled Jordon wrong

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Phelps... dominated domination in front of 1.2 billion people in China.

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Phelps is an elite talent but he doesn't have that constant staying power and media presence.

In my mind, the elite of elites class is probably Jordan, Bo Jackson, Tiger Woods. All were extreme athletes in their respective field, and all were media icons of the superstar sort.

Take Bo, who hasn't been relevant as an athlete for decades, and compare to Phelps. I think you can still make the argument Bo has a bigger everyday impact on American media/pop culture. Phelps may get to that point, but I doubt it.

Below them, you have elite athletes with a lot of media presence, like Federer, Kobe, Lebron, Brady, Manning. Of those, the one most likely to join the higher group is probably Lebron. Manning may have more media saturation in the US than any of the others, but I see him transitioning into a beloved, hosting NFL games guy rather than an icon. That probably has to do with his skill set, which is more subtle than Lebron, for lack of a better word.

Below those guys, I'm not sure who the next group with star power is. Jordan Spieth? Cam Newton? Newton has the raw physical ability and high likability, but likely won't ever achieve on the level the others have. Spieth will likely be the inverse, talent and championships without the charisma (though he is certainly likable).

I'll give it to Pele, eventhough I really meant an American. And probably Babe Ruth as well. Gretzky was more dominant, but not as renowned. Same with Phelps, etc.

And to those of you that think Jordan would be average in todays game are fricking retarded.

Larry bird and magic Johnson would still be great playing today if they were in their prime.

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Jordan changed the world by making himself a brand.

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He is the sole reason (no pun intended) Nike is at the top of the food chain in the basketball landscape. They were able to snag Jordan as the face of the product line and ran with it.

Personally, the game isn't even a fraction of what the game used to be. The athletes are more talented, but they WENT AT EACH OTHER in the 90s. I was like 7-10 years old, but I vividly remember my jaw dropping at Jordan's play.