“You don’t see any failures, so you see this mythical god-like figure” - Shannon Sharpe believes Michael Jordan has benefited from not playing in the social media era

Michael Jordan is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, basketball players to ever step on the hardwood. But playing in an era when social media was not rampant might have helped in making him be seen as a basketball god.

That train of thought was started by Kevin Durant, who believes the mystery that surrounded MJ due to the absence of social media benefited the six-time NBA champ. Even so, KD gave Jordan his flowers, saying his historic run will never be matched by anybody.

Reacting to his comments, sports analyst Shannon Sharpe agreed with KD. He pointed out how every move by professional athletes these days is viewed with a lens, one that was not available in Jordan's days. On "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," he said:

"We didn't get an opportunity to break Michael (Jordan) down like we do to current professional athletes.

"When you go to the internet, all you see is highlights of Michael Jordan. You don't see any missed shots. You don't see any failures. So, you see this mythical god-like figure. Everybody that talks about him, what's the first thing they say? 'Man is like a god.' 'It's like he was levitating.' 'It's like he's not even real.' Before I heard any of that, that's how I felt when I saw him."

To many, that point of view is valid as people would have nitpicked every performance, just like they do with LeBron James. While not many of his setbacks made it to the mainstream media, he deserves all the praise he is getting for his incredible achievements.

Michael Jordan had a perfect run in the NBA Finals

The NBA community can go on and on about how Michael Jordan was always glorified in the media and only clips of his brilliance are available. However you look at it, MJ was an exemplary basketball player, and he has six NBA rings, plus an NCAA national title, to show for it.

Despite getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Detroit Pistons for three consecutive years from 1988, MJ finally found his way to the NBA Finals, and the rest is history. In his first finals appearance, Jordan averaged 31.2 points, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks to lead the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA championship.

It was the first of many sublime finals performances, six to be precise. MJ never lost a series with the title on the line. He asserted his dominance, so much so that he never played a Game 7, killing any hope the opposition might have of turning the series around.

Six games, or less, was what it took for Jordan and the Bulls to defeat every team they faced in the finals. MJ led the Bulls to six finals appearances in eight years and never dropped the ball once.