The conversation surrounding Patrick Mahomes has changed. He can do it by winning three Super Bowl rings by age 30. The Chiefs quarterback is no longer only mentioned as the league’s best QB, he already ranks in league history. While a natural comparison would be to the GOAT Tom Brady and how Mahomes would face Brady at the same time in his career, there’s another comparison that feels more apt.
Patrick Mahomes is Michael Jordan.
This was raised by Kevin Clarke on Twitter after the Chiefs’ win, and it’s honestly hard to argue with.
The reason I think of Mahomes as Michael Jordan is because Jordan has relegated so many would-be legends to the sidelines. He literally gave no one else any breathing room and basically shaped the legacy of all his contemporaries. We might see it again. He’s on his way.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) February 12, 2024
Mahomes changed the way we discuss quarterbacks in the NFL in a way that no one, including Tom Brady, has ever done. When ranking players at the QB position in the current NFL, it always starts with Mahomes, then there’s the gap, then the discussion begins. He is a one-of-a-kind player, on a level all his own, with a blend of productivity and success that we have never seen before. Since then Brady’s peak — and yet this still feels different.
No matter how good Brady was, there was always controversy. Discussion at the top. Brady vs. Manning and Brady vs. Rodgers. Indeed, over time it became clear that TB12 was the greatest of his contemporaries, but it was debatable. That’s not the case with Mahomes. You can try to fill in for Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, but they’re destined to become empty, swallowed up by the black hole that is Patrick Mahomes.
This is why Mahomes is now a Jordan-like figure. This is why Clark’s claim that Mahomes has changed the landscape so drastically is completely accurate.
We are moving away from an era where the majority of sports fans have seen things like what Jordan was doing back in the day. It’s hard to even fully convey the magnitude of what MJ did to basketball back then. YouTube Highlights It’s hard to see the impact this man has had on his NBA when you’ve only been introduced to him through his reels and “MJ vs. LeBron” debates.
There was a guy who entered the league at the tail end of the Magic vs. Bird rivalry and, for the better part of a decade, obliterated everyone’s legacy in the league as it got sucked into his gravity. The NBA in the early ’90s had some of the greatest basketball players we’ve ever seen, but all of their accomplishments were changed because they happened to play during Michael Jordan’s era. It happened.
You don’t have to look far beyond the 1992 Dream Team to see this in action. I’ll leave Magic and Bird out of the equation for the time being, as they had a flourishing period in his ’80s. These are Jordan’s contemporaries, all Hall of Famers, but in hindsight they just don’t feel “special” because of No. 23.
- charles barley
- clyde drexler
- Patrick Ewing
- karl malone
- Chris Mullin
- Scottie Pippen
- david robinson
- john stockton
it is Eight Their accomplishments have become the stuff of legend on their respective teams, but in the larger perception of the era, they hold no value to Jordan. Shaquille O’Neal averaged over 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks for almost a decade. still He was a supporting player until Jordan’s career slowed down, at which point Shaq joined the Lakers and finally got the recognition he deserved.
The thing about Jordan during this time is that you could easily make the argument that he was surpassed. Comparing their careers, there are many reasons why LeBron James surpassed Jordan, but it still feels different. LeBron has been bending the league to his will for over 20 years. His strength, tenacity and leadership are admirable.
Every night we see how hard LeBron works to be the best he can be. The effort he puts in is unparalleled.
Jordan, on the other hand, just like Mahomes, makes it look effortless. To be clear, I’m not saying that Jordan or Mahomes didn’t do their best to win championships. Rather, they share this quality of playing at 80% effort while always having another gear to reach for if needed. , but that’s not necessary. Whether it’s MJ sliding down the lane like a ballerina in the paint for an off-balance layup or Mahomes casually throwing the ball 50 yards downfield with the same motion people use on the beach, each There is an unavoidable quality to the game. It’s too easy for them.
Mahomes is currently 28 years old and has three rings. If he continues on this path and the Chiefs can eventually deal with Andy Reid’s retirement, well…the Pats could get five more rings when this is all over right. Comparisons to Brady are now locked in and will forever determine how Mahomes will be evaluated going forward. But the fact that we’re already pitting him against the greatest QB of all time emphasizes how ahead of his time Mahomes is.
No one in the NFL is in his orbit. No one playing this game right now has earned the right to be compared to Patrick Mahomes. It’s the level of impact the Chiefs QB has on the game and why he resembles Michael Jordan more than any player we’ve seen since No. 23 suited up for the Bulls.
