Phil Heath names Michael Jordan his favorite player: "What I loved about Jordan was he prevented epic guys from winning titles"

Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls had a stranglehold on the NBA in the ‘90s by capturing six titles in eight years. During that stretch of incredible dominance, MJ broke the hearts of several legendary players who failed to win a championship.

Jordan’s undisputed reign in the NBA during his era, and perhaps in any era, has earned him fans across different fields. Phil Heath, a seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, is one of those who idolized the five-time MVP.

He had this to say about Jordan:

“Jordan, all-time [favorite player]. I was able to see him play the Sonics and my jaw dropped. He’s just incredible. Maybe young kids don’t know [how good he was]. What I loved about Jordan was he prevented epic guys from winning titles. He shut it down.”

As great as Michael Jordan was in the ‘90s, his achievements could have been even better had he not decided to retire in 1993. In his absence, Hakeem Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets won back-to-back titles.

Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, Patrick Ewing, and several other superstars couldn’t win the Larry O’Brien Trophy because of “His Airness”.

Jordan denied Malone and Stockton in 1997 and 1998 in two epic championship battles between the Bulls and the Utah Jazz. Utah’s dynamic duo even had home court advantage in the 1998 NBA Finals. They had beaten Chicago in Game 1 but still lost the series, which was punctuated by Jordan's iconic last shot for the Bulls.

Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton reached the 1996 NBA Finals and also fell to Michael Jordan. Kemp retired without winning one, but Payton earned his championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat.

Patrick Ewing never even appeared in the NBA Finals because the New York Knicks were bracketed in the same conference as Jordan’s Bulls. From 1991 to 1993, Ewing’s playoff aspirations were ended by the Bulls.

The Knicks had their best chance against the Bulls in the 1993 Eastern Finals when they beat their rivals in Games 1 and 2. They never won another game the rest of the way as Jordan took over the series.

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Michael Jordan dashed Charles Barkley’s championship hopes in 1993

Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls beat Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. [Image via People.com]

From the late ‘80s to early ‘90s, Charles Barkley was considered by many to be the second-best player in the NBA after Michael Jordan. “Chuck” toiled in Philly for several years before he finally had the right supporting cast when he was traded to the Phoenix Suns.

In his first year in Phoenix, he won the NBA MVP and carried the Suns to the best record in the NBA. They had home-court advantage in the 1993 Finals versus Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

Barkley averaged 27.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.2 steals in six games in that championship round. It still wasn’t enough to prevent “His Airness” from capturing his first grand slam.

Years later, Barkley would admit that the 1993 NBA Finals was the first time he conceded Jordan was truly better than him. The Bulls legend averaged a mind-boggling 41.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.7 steals.

“Chuck” would team up with Hakeem Olajuwon later in his career, but his best chance of winning a title had already passed him by. Michael Jordan simply wouldn’t allow his team to be beaten in the NBA Finals, whether the Chicago Bulls had a home-court edge or not.