Jordan threw shade at modern NBA stars.

It appears that comparing eras and superstars is a favorite pastime for every NBA fan, including Michael Jordan. -The age-old debate on whether players in the modern era could succeed in generations that have come before them. The Chicago Bulls icon seems to think that only four players from the modern era could have been just as successful during his time.

It was 2013, and Jordan was part of an ESPN piece that focused on him sharing his opinion on the current NBA landscape, including dissecting its current crop of household names. In the piece, he mentions modern players being soft, coddled, and ill-prepared for the highest level of the game. To no one’s surprise, MJ only gave his nod of approval to four superstars that could survive in his era.

“Our era, I’ll give you a hint. I can only come up with four – LeBron, Kobe, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki,” he said.

Protecting his legacy

You can’t blame any of the older generation, but it is common practice for players who played in the 80s and 90s to look harshly on the modern NBA. For whatever reason, a level of stubbornness and denial prevents them from accepting anything positive about players who suited up from the 2000s onwards.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, given that Jordan has previously spoken negatively on many aspects of the current league landscape. What’s even more bizarre is that Mike was an owner of the Charlotte Hornets at the time the ESPN piece was released, acting slightly contradictory from his position as an owner who should be actively trying to promote the current game.

Jordan is delusional

There are no prizes for guessing that LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki could succeed in the 1980s and 90s; they are four of the greatest players to have ever graced the Association.

Truth be told, every single player who plays today could succeed in his era. Players are faster, bigger, stronger, and more athletic, and the overall game is just flat-out better than it was during MJ’s career.

I know it’s hard for him and other players from his time to accept. Still, basketball seems to be the only sport in the world where the old heads can’t acknowledge that the game naturally evolves and gets better with time.

Jordan naming just four superstars as players who could fare well in his era is not only ignorant but also disrespectful to every professional who has come up through the toughest pool of talent to be named on an NBA roster.

While just about everyone will turn a blind eye because it’s Jordan who said it, a better idea to move the game forward would be to call out these older superstars for their foolishness.