Whenever there’s an excellent athlete, people always search for that athlete’s successor. We are still looking for the next Dan Marino, the next Derek Jeter, the next Wayne Gretzky, and the next Michael Jordan. While it may be flattering to be compared to an all-time great, it puts tremendous pressure on the athlete to perform. They may experience severe backlash if they fall short of expectations.
Among the list of talented basketball players compared to Michael Jordan, five players stand out. They are:
Harold Miner
Jerry Stackhouse
Vince Carter
1. Harold Miner
Harold Miner was perhaps one of the least successful player when comparing to “Jordans.” He only lasted four seasons in the NBA and retired from basketball soon after. He started with a lot of hype and fanfare and ended with a whimper.
The man that was supposed to be the next legendary player ended up scoreless in his final NBA game and was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The hype was not unfounded however. Miner was a star at the University of Southern California. He averaged as much as 26.3 points per game. He was indeed a scoring machine and was very much a human highlight reel. He beat out future NBA stars such as Christian Laettner, Shaquille O’Neal, and Alonzo Mourning for Sports Illustrated’s 1992 college basketball player of the year award.
In the 1992 season, the Miami Heat was the 12th overall pick. This was an exciting day for the expansion franchise as they already had shooters Glen Rice and Steve Smith as well as an inside presence in Rony Seikaly. While Harold was not an immediate impact player like Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, or Magic Johnson, his rookie year numbers were quite solid. He averaged 10.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, and 0.5 SPG with an average of 18.9 minutes per game. The future looked bright for the Miami Heat rookie.
His profile was raised tremendously by winning the 1993 Slam Dunk Competition. He dethroned the 1992 champ Cedric Ceballos. However, he was not able to join the 1994 contest due to injury; Isaiah Rider won the contest that year. The 1995 contest became the showdown between Miner and Rider. Harold was able to successfully regain his crown in triumphant fashion.