Michael Jordan has long been the gold standard in sports. Athletes from different arenas often find themselves in the shadow of his legacy, and names like LeBron James, Tom Brady, and even Kobe Bryant have been held up as potential equivalents. However, a recent link to an NFL player has proved the fact that not every comparison holds up. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith recently delivered a sharp rebuttal to one particularly bold claim: Davante Adams’ likening of Aaron Rodgers to Michael Jordan.

During a recent episode of First Take, Shannon Sharpe, the guest on the show, was asked to comment on the recent link that New York Jets wide receiver Dvanate Adams had proposed. The former NFL star offered a softer take, acknowledging that Adams’ claim had some merit.

“That was a sharp thing to say… he knows deep down inside that Aaron Rogers is not the guy he left in Green Bay, three four years ago. He’s a different guy now but he has that is sharp because he has to show that he still has confidence and hopefully the team will follow suit and have confidence in Aaron Rogers,” said Sharpe during the podcast.

However, for Stephen A. Smith, this comparison missed the mark. He dismantled Adams’ comparison, delivering a pointed critique that raised eyebrows across the NFL fanbase.

“I don’t think that’s sharp, not smart, personally, because I think when you mention the word Michael Jordan, okay anything that follows has to be synonymous with championship, not one championship but championships. And when you do that, it automatically makes people think about Michael Jordan and what he was and what you are in comparison to that and Aaron Rodgers has looked like anything but that,” said Smith during the show. In Smith’s view, Rodgers, as gifted as he is, lacks the consistency and playoff success to match Jordan’s legacy.

Adding to the debate is the current condition of the New York Jets, Rodgers’ new team. The Jets recently had a disappointing Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, which dropped their record to 3-7. However, the Super Bowl Champion, after suffering a season-ending heel injury last season is trying his best to deliver for his team.

The quarterback currently has a passer rating of 86.8 with 2,258 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions in 10 games this season. However, compared to his other seasons, the current one is the worst and Davante Adams used Jordan’s late-career struggles to paint a picture of how Rodgers might feel.

“I mean, if Michael Jordan was on this team, he wouldn’t be happy. So you can look at it however you want with that, but you’re not supposed to be happy when things aren’t going great. You do have to try to dig deep and find a way to fix it. That’s what we’re trying to do now,” said Adams post the loss to Arizona.

Furthermore, Rodgers’ individual stats paint a different picture from Jordan’s winning legacy. Rodgers has four MVP awards and one Super Bowl ring to his name and has clearly etched himself as one of the best quarterbacks ever but he is still not on the same level with Jordan. Stephen A. Smith’s critique is ultimately rooted in these differences.

Jordan’s career represents sustained excellence, particularly when it mattered most, whereas Rodgers, despite his brilliance, hasn’t reached the same level of postseason dominance. Moreover, apart from this, there was another time when Smith had snubbed Sharpe.

Stephen A. Smith once accused Shannon Sharpe of changing a narrative

As we previously saw, Smith dismissed Sharpe’s comment that was on the same page as Davante Adam, there have been numerous times when the ESPN analyst had called out the former NFL Player. A few days back, the ESPN analyst went into a fiery mode after a comment by the New York Knicks player Karl Anthony Towns.

Towns, during his appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast, revealed that LeBron James was his GOAT. Smith, however, wasn’t buying and during a segment of ‘The Stephen Smith Show’, he accused Sharpe of somehow influencing Towns’ opinion.

“You know I mean that d–n Shay Shay, he instigating stuff. I see what you trying to do Shay Shay, it ain’t going to work, it ain’t gonna work Shannon Sharpe, you can try that nonsense all you want to. You can line up call everytime. Go get one of my members, one of my New York Knicks all right, one of my New York Knicks who you hate on,” said Smith, a true New Yorker.

The 56-year-old, former NFL champion is often considered to be a LeBron advocate. He had brought up the same GOAT debate regarding Jordan and James numerous times during previous segments of his podcast and had also lauded the Los Angeles Lakers standout for hyping up his son to join the team. So we can say that the ESPN analyst’s claim wasn’t without any merit.