This video was sent along by the Hoop Doctors. Watch, then let’s discuss:

I’m far too young to remember Jordan at this stage of his career — this video was produced in 1984 near the beginning of his rookie season in the November-December range it looks like, about a month or two before I was born — so there’s a lot here that’s sort of insane to me. First, I honestly didn’t realize Michael Jordan had two coaches before Doug Collins, and later, Phil Jackson took over at the helm. (Kevin Loughery is featured in this spot.) Second, with all the comparison of Kobe and LeBron (and Jerry Stackhouse and Harold Minor, to a far lesser extent) to Jordan, I guess I’ve never quite thought about who the media compared Jordan to. The fact that magazine’s had “The Next Dr. J?” on their covers and a photo of MJ makes sense insomuch as we’re always looking to compare greats across eras — we’re always looking for the “next someone,” even when it’s Michael Freakin’ Jordan.

But this comparison seems a little forced. Again, way too young to have seen Erving play, but it seems like they mostly compared in dunking ability, popularity and expectations: Erving was more finesse and grace; Jordan’s game was more flash and power.

Third, best quote of the whole thing: “It’s always a big compliment to be compared to players like Dr. J. I’d love to have the career that he had. Hopefully I can make a name for myself and not live off of his name. I think Michael Jordan sounds pretty good to me.”

Yeah, I think that worked out quite well.