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Michael Jordan is one of the ?GOATs? of the NBA. He has won six NBA titles during his career with two three-peats. Jordan was the face of the NBA ever since he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls.

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Millions of fans around the world, analysts and former and present NBA players believe that Michael Jordan is the ?GOAT?. He also changed the way the game of basketball was played.

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Another player who has changed the way the game is played is Stephen Curry. And he is one of the main reasons the Golden State Warriors are in the Finals this year. During the recent ESPN?s ?First Take? show, there was a debate about whether Steph changed the game for the better. When questioned, Amar’e Stoudemire said that he believes the game was changed for the better by Stephen Curry.?

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While Amar’e admitted that Stephen Curry changed the game for the better, Chris Russo said that the game is worse now. And Stephen A. Smith said that Michael Jordan changed the game for the worse even though he is the best ever to play.

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Stephen A. Smith blames Michael Jordan

Chris Russo wasn?t impressed by how the game was played now. He said that the Celtics vs Bucks Game 7 was the worst game he has ever seen. Because of the poor three-point shot attempts by both teams. Russo said that he would like some balance in the game instead of just shooting three-pointers for the sake of it.

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Then Stephen A. Smith said that he admits Russo?s claim but said that he is pointing his finger in the wrong direction. He said that Stephen Curry didn?t change the game; he elevated the game to a point where it has become acceptable now to attempt so many threes.

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Stephen said that Mike D?Antoni was one of the main culprits for the current style. He said that Mike didn?t want his guards to mid-range jumpers and encouraged them to either attempt a three-pointer or layup. Smith also said that D?Antoni would consider benching someone if they took a mid-ranged shot.?

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Then Smith said, ?…My brother, the guy I love so much. That, I believe, is the greatest player to have ever played. Michael Jordan is responsible as much as anybody for changing the game for the worse???

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He clarified that he doesn?t intend to throw any shade on Jordan and said that he believes Jordan is the best ever. Smith said that legends like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had help from their teammates. So basketball was still a team game back then.

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But Michael Jordan was so phenomenal he almost did everything by himself, which promoted the individualization of the game. He said that this was further elevated by players like Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, etc.

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Written by

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Bagavathi Eswaran

1,520 Articles

Bagavathi Eswaran is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports, having a strong passion for the sport since the age of ten. As a former college player, Bagavathi has been following the NBA for more than a decade and has found his calling in writing about the sport. He has used his expertise in covering the NBA, as well as other arenas of the sport, to write more than 1400 articles at ES. Bagavathi's pieces on the increasingly dominant presence of European basketball and those following the journey of women-ballers are particularly noteworthy. Along with being a full-time writer, he is also a part of a group of young coaches groomed as trainers by Junior NBA. Bagavathi has trained players from schools and colleges, as well as underprivileged students who can attend the camps for free.

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Veer Badani

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