50+ Moments and Stats That Prove Michael Jordan is the GOAT

Do you know how many great athletes the 20^th century produced? From 1901 to 2000, the world saw greats like MLB’s Babe Ruth, boxing’s Muhammad Ali, NHL’s Wayne Gretzky, runner Jesse Owen, NFL’s Jerry Rice, golf’s Arnold Palmer, and tennis’ Chris Evert. But when ESPN released its list of the greatest athletes of the 20^th century, Michael Jordan sat on the number-one spot.

However, the list sparked controversy regarding MJ’s rank. Some argued that because he had fewer NBA titles than Bill Russell and scored fewer points than Wilt Chamberlain, he didn’t deserve the crown. But it didn’t matter what the naysayers said—he was number-one according to ESPN, and that’s all that mattered.