Michael Jordan may well have been the best basketball player ever, but he wasn't revolutionary. He didn't change the way the game was played or do something wildly different than previous players. He did what they did, only way better. He was revolutionary in terms of marketing and becoming a multi-media and product icon, though, so maybe that counts.
Magic or Larry might get the nod over Jordan. The Lakers/Celtics battles of the 80s were stuff of legend. The Detroit Bad Boys could be in there as well. Jordan took a great product and made it even better, but the NBA really developed a better strategy to market itself concurrently with his era. One could even go back as far as Wilt Chamberlain, I suppose. EDIT - I typed this before reading Art's reply, but they go well together.
Who would be that guy in Football? Joe Namath, with his legendary upset prediction? There are so many guys who made the NFL great it would be hard to pin it on just one. Guys like Jim Brown or Dan Marino come to mind. Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders... there are good arguments for all of them and more.
Booby Orr and Doug Harvey revolutionized the way that defence is played. Jacques Plante revolutionized the goaltending position and the equipment used.
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by Yoda » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:17 pm 
