Super Bowl LV: The Greatest of All Time

Two quarterbacks, two NBA legends, four G.O.A.T.s

Two of the greatest quarterbacks of football’s modern era will face off in Super Bowl LV this Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will take on Tom Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These quarterbacks are magnificent. In fact, their names may eventually belong in the same sentence as two of the best athletes to walk this earth. 

“Could you imagine if Michael Jordan got his team to the NBA Finals in 1998 or when he was older against a young LeBron James, who’s the face of the league?” said former NFL player Tony Romo on a broadcast following the divisional rounds. “I think we might actually have that Super Bowl.” 

While it’s difficult to imagine the historical implications this game could have on sports, we can imagine the sheer magnitude of this moment by drawing parallels to two of the world’s G.O.A.T.s: LeBron James and Michael Jordan. 

Michael Jordan vs. Tom Brady: Proven G.O.A.T.s

Tom Brady has the same number of championship rings as Michael Jordan. He is one of very few professional athletes who can boast this accomplishment. Crucially however, he could raise the bar as soon as Sunday. 

Super Bowl LV is scheduled to be Brady’s 10th Super Bowl appearance—and his first outside of the New England Patriots organization. A win would cement Brady’s legacy as the best quarterback in NFL history and help him surpass Jordan as one of the most accomplished athletes of all time. 

If you look back on both of Jordan and Brady’s infamous careers, you see that their highest moments all illustrate their grit, resilience and their ability to do the unthinkable. 

Age Knows No Limits

Jordan was drafted in 1994 by the Chicago Bulls, a club whose renown he’d go on to change. He played with them for 14 years, and led the team to six NBA championships from the years of 1991-1998. 

His accomplishments piled high during his stretch with the Bulls. From being named Finals MVP five times throughout his career; to winning two gold medals with Team USA at the ‘84 and ‘92 Olympics; to scoring the most points in a playoff game in NBA history—Jordan did it all. 

But one of his best moments was on Feb. 21, 2003. Two years prior, MJ returned to the game after announcing his second retirement in 1999—this time with a new team. He traded in Chicago’s black and red for the Washington Wizards’ royal blue. 

Four days before this particular game, Jordan celebrated his 40th birthday. He set a record that night for being the only player 40 years or older to score the most points in a game with 43. The Wizards beat the then-New Jersey Nets 89-86. 

“I had to do everything I had to do to get this team to understand what winning is all about," Jordan said after the game.

Jordan was the only Wizard to play in all 82 games in 2003. Every home game at Washington’s stadium was sold out, and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the league. While it was obvious that Jordan wasn’t quite the same player he was with the Bulls, his final season solidified his notoriety as basketball’s best. 

Similar to Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, all of Tom Brady’s championships have been won with one team–the New England Patriots. 

The Pats drafted Brady back in 2000. His 20-year career with the team is the longest for any NFL quarterback with one franchise. He led New England to six Super Bowl titles during that time.

Brady’s list of feats could also go on forever. He’s appeared in nine Super Bowls—the most of any NFL player—and holds nearly every major quarterback record in the book. He has the most passing touchdowns (581), playoff wins (33), division titles (18), playoff passing yards (12,248). He’s won the Super Bowl MVP a total of four times. 

His run with the Patriots may be over, Brady’s career sure isn’t. Contrary to Jordan, he swapped in the navy blue for rosy red just months before his 43rd birthday. 

In just one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady led them to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2003. The old-timer posted 4,633 passing yards and 40 touchdowns (third and second in the league, respectively) during the regular 2020 season. 

Like Jordan, Brady’s play at the helm of the Bucs isn’t quite the same Brady we’re used to seeing with the Pats. But to bring a team who went 4-12 last season to the Super Bowl for the first time in 17 years as a 43 year old? Sounds like something MJ would do. 

Injured? Never Heard of It

Jordan showed up to Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals physically drained. He staggered into the Utah Jazz’s stadium fatigued and dehydrated with sickness slowly devastating his body.

But with the series tied 2-2, there was no way MJ was going to sit this one out.

Despite being inconceivably ill, Jordan still managed to score 38 points and pulled the Chicago Bulls to a 90-88 victory. His teammate Scottie Pippen nearly dragged Jordan’s body off the court once the buzzer sounded. This game became known as the “Flu Game”, even though reports came out 15 years later that it was actually food poisoning from a pre-game hotel meal. Regardless of the cause, Jordan left every ounce he had on the court that night. 

Brady had a “Flu Game” moment of his own during the AFC Championships game in 2017. 

During a practice in the days leading up to the game, Brady collided with his former teammate Rex Burkhead and received 12 stitches on his right thumb. This is a right-handed quarterback’s worst nightmare. 

But Brady took the injury in stride. He threw for 290 yards with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. The Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-10 and Brady advanced to his eighth Super Bowl (which he’d go on to win). 

Jordan and Brady have two of the greatest big-game performances with an injury (or mysterious illness) in the history of sports. Nothing stood in the way of their quests for a championship.  

Comeback Kid

The best moments in sports happen when an athlete conquers the impossible. When the final seconds on the clock tick down and pivotal points are earned—upsetting the fate of the game at stake. The silent crowd watches in amazement from their seats, and the headlines break from every media outlet. Those moments when athletes transcend sports are few and far between.

Yet, Jordan and Brady each have plenty of these moments to call their own. 

After he announced his first retirement in 1993, Jordan announced his return to the Bulls with two words: “I’m back.” 

In his fifth game back after a 21-month hiatus, Jordan scored 55 points against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. With three seconds left on the clock, he won the game on a pass to teammate Bill Wennington. 

That night’s masterpiece reminded Chicago and the entire NBA that Jordan was invincible.

Brady’s best comeback was in that same 2017 season during Super Bowl LI versus the Atlanta Falcons. With 18 minutes left on the clock, he and his Patriots were down by 25 points. Even loyal New England fans began to lose hope.

But Brady brought the Pats back in a record-breaking rally. They won 34-28, posting the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. 

Patrick Mahomes vs. LeBron James: Future G.O.A.T.s

Patrick Mahomes, like Lebron James, is in the process of chasing the greatest. 

Mahomes is one of the most skilled quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen, as many view the third-year quarterback as Tom Brady’s successor. A win on Sunday gives Mahomes his second Super Bowl ring in just his third season–a start needed to ascend his legacy to Brady’s six. 

James is also coming off of his fourth championship season. But he continues to chase Jordan’s legacy in the NBA.

Even though the two are at different points of their careers, James and Mahomes represent a pair of the most gifted athletes we have ever seen–each of whom transformed franchises and revolutionized their respective sports.

Gifted from the Start

Mahomes and James were each talented multi-sport athletes in high school. To go along with his quarterback abilities, Mahomes was also a star basketball and baseball player—he dominated Texas high school sports. 

Mahomes’ high school supremacy earned him Maxpreps Male Athlete of the Year honors in 2013-14, an award spotlighting the best high school athlete in the country. This (senior) year, he threw for fifty touchdowns and struck out sixteen in a no-hitter as his team’s starting pitcher. 

A decade before Mahomes, a young high school player named LeBron James was a shining star in the state of Ohio. In just his sophomore year, James became the first high school underclassmen to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. 

James is a world-class basketball talent, but he was also a standout wide receiver on his school’s varsity football team. Many viewed him as a “pro-bound” football player, as the five-star athlete went on to receive numerous offers from Division I football programs.

Can you imagine LeBron in the NFL? Ultimately, they each chose the right sports, yet it is tempting to ponder the possibilities of the two switching professional paths.

Mind Over Matter

Watching Mahomes and James run their respective offenses makes these demanding sports look easy; they are in full control. Games seem to slow down when they play, as their intelligence, paired with their freakish athleticism, allows them to consistently make the right play. 

While Mahomes’ and James’ physical physiques are often flaunted, they each have an equally strong mind. Athletes’ decision-making skills are often overlooked, but intellect like theirs is a competitive advantage that manifests greatness. 

At Texas Tech University, Mahomes was an Academic All-American. He did not miss class, nor did he let his reputation as a first-round NFL draft pick hinder his academics. Nowadays, the cerebral part of Mahomes’ game continues to develop: adapting to defenses, reading coverages and remaining disciplined in the pocket takes years to master.

James utilizes his brainpower in similar ways. He often recalls opponent schemes and in-bounds play from NBA games throughout his 18 year professional career.

“His memory,” ESPN writer Brian Windhorst described back in 2014, “it can inform him. It can engage him. It can attack him. It can hinder him in ways that are harder to treat than a sprained ankle.” 

Flip the Franchise

Before 2017, the Chiefs had been a fringe-contender, battling mediocrity. Kansas City surpassed the twelve-win mark only twice in the 21st century. The last time they played in a Super Bowl was 1970.  

Everything changed when they drafted Patrick Mahomes. 

The Chiefs are now the winners of at least a dozen games in three consecutive seasons. They brought the Lombardi Trophy to Kansas City for the first time in the last half-decade––all with Mahomes at the helm. 

Before LeBron James dawned No. 23 in a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey, the franchise was in a dark place. Cleveland endured six consecutive losing seasons after the team's 1998 playoff appearance and were looking at a bleak future… until the Cavaliers won the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery and were awarded the number-one overall pick.

James instantly revived Cleveland– living up to his nickname as ‘The Chosen One.’ The Cavaliers became a regular playoff contender in 2005 and were among the Eastern Conference’s elite for the next five seasons. He eventually returned to Cleveland and earned the Cavaliers’ their first-and-only NBA Championship in 2016. 

Acquiring generational players through the draft is extremely rare. But when a LeBron James or Patrick Mahomes is chosen, ordinary teams can turn into dominant franchises.