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Throwback: When Legendary European Coach Claimed Michael Jordan Is an 'Ordinary Player'
Michael Jordan is considered to be the GOAT when it comes to basketball but a former European coach considered him an ordinary player.
When Michael Jordan began winning NBA championships, MVP awards, and scoring titles, not many people were critical of him. Even in his prime, Michael Jordan was already a sporting legend. However, Bozidar Maljkovic, a former international basketball coach, had different views about His Airness.
It is not surprising that an increasing number of people will begin to doubt your abilities as your star rises. These critics don't think the hype is real. A few of them even wish to knock you off your pedestal. Even though Michael Jordan was the best player in the world in the 1990s, Bozidar Maljkovic asserted that if Jordan had played in Europe, he would have been an ordinary player.
What did Maljkovic tell John Salley?
According to Jeff Pearlman's book Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty, the story was told by former NBA player John Salley.
As soon as they were introduced, Pearlman wrote, Salley says that Maljkovic told him that Michael Jordan, with whom the power forward had just won a championship, was 'an ordinary player' and that 'in Europe, he would average 16 points per game.
A few European players, including Vlade Divac, Dražen Petrović, Rik Smits, Detlef Schrempf, and Rik Smits, made it to the NBA, but their real impact didn't happen until the 2000s.
Did Maljkovic draw his Jordan conclusion from the Olympic games in 1992?
Maljkovic may have studied the statistics from Jordan's six games at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he averaged a meager 12.7 points. However, it would be unfair to evaluate Michael Jordan's performance in that tournament given the presence of such legends as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and more. He didn't have to put scoring first.
Jordan nevertheless scored whenever he wanted to when it mattered most. Michael scored 22 points in the gold medal game against Croatia, which was his best scoring effort.
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