Stephen A. Smith is easily one of the most opinionated men in all of sports media and every so often, he comes through with some opinions that leave fans scratching their heads. Most recently, he went on First Take and gave a list of five people that Michael Jordan should be thankful for. You would think that most of these people would have to do with the Chicago Bulls but as it turns out, the list is actually quite the mixed bag and can be made open for debate.
As you can see from the clip below, it starts out with Smith ranking Phil Jackson fifth, Isiah Thomas fourth, Scottie Pippen third, Magic Johnson second, and David Falk first. All of these choices were backed up by some sound reasoning although you can't help but feel like maybe Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson should be above guys like Thomas and Johnson.
It's impossible to accomplish anything all on your own and Jordan wasn't the exception to that rule. He had plenty of great partners and rivals over the years and those listed by Smith are all great options.
Fans might be particularly surprised by Falk's inclusion here but he is the man behind Jordan's Nike deal which has brought in billions of dollars over the years. Clearly, Falk is the unsung hero of Jordan's career.