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You can’t compare Simone Biles to Michael Jordan. If Michael Jordan could shoot 3 pointers with 90% accuracy from his own half court, then that would be a more

You can’t compare Simone Biles to Michael Jordan. If Michael Jordan could shoot 3 pointers with 90% accuracy from his own half court, then that would be a more accurate comparison. Simone Biles has a unique combination of size, strength, and skill that truly makes her the greatest gymnast ever and probably going forward in time as well.

miked85 5y ago
I am sure you realize that Jordan was just an example of someone generally considered one of the greatest in their respective sport.
- ceejayoz 5y ago
  There are people who rival, and perhaps exceed, Jordan though - Curry, Bryant, Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, etc. "One of the greatest" and "by far the greatest" aren't the same. Biles appears to be the latter.
- plank_time 5y ago
  It seems like you don’t understand exactly how different Simone Biles is from every single gymnast before her. She is an anomaly in the field of gymnastics. She can physically do things that no other gymnast, male or female, can do because of how short she is, how strong she is, and how skilled she is. If she were of regular gymnast height, her skill would still make her one of the greatest gymnasts. But add on the fact she is so short and so strong, it means she does things no one else would dare to do. I love Michael Jordan. He is my favorite basketball player ever. I’ve watched him play basketball live. But he is no Simone Biles. The question isn’t whether Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast in history. The question is whether any gymnast in the future can ever do what she can do right now. Unless children become genetically engineered to be gymnasts, there may never be another gymnast as great as Biles.
  - mathgladiator 5y ago
    Or, her strength and height inspire people like her to step up and the gymnastic game is changed forever. This feels like a fatalistic approach which we don't do in so many activities.
  - waterfowl 5y ago
    she's 4'8 - that's not like an extreme left end of the curve dwarf height on a global scale, is it? NBA centers are all 7 feet tall which precludes most people from being NBA centers, but there's a whole world and somehow they manage to fill the jobs. It seems most GOATs are eventually supplanted because things that are unfathomable become table stakes, think like triple axels in figure skating. Forever is a really long time.
  - dmurray 5y ago
    Is she actually better than the best men, or is that an impossible comparison to make? Several men have landed this move before, though I've no doubt there are some things she does that no man can do as well.
    - lupire 5y ago
      No one is saying she's best than the best men. Male gymnasts are just often ignored.
      - dmurray 5y ago
        The post I was replying to says she is better than the best men, at least at some things. > She can physically do things that no other gymnast, male or female, can do because of how short she is, how strong she is, and how skilled she is.

miked85 5y ago

I am sure you realize that Jordan was just an example of someone generally considered one of the greatest in their respective sport.

ceejayoz 5y ago
There are people who rival, and perhaps exceed, Jordan though - Curry, Bryant, Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, etc. "One of the greatest" and "by far the greatest" aren't the same. Biles appears to be the latter.
plank_time 5y ago
It seems like you don’t understand exactly how different Simone Biles is from every single gymnast before her. She is an anomaly in the field of gymnastics. She can physically do things that no other gymnast, male or female, can do because of how short she is, how strong she is, and how skilled she is. If she were of regular gymnast height, her skill would still make her one of the greatest gymnasts. But add on the fact she is so short and so strong, it means she does things no one else would dare to do. I love Michael Jordan. He is my favorite basketball player ever. I’ve watched him play basketball live. But he is no Simone Biles. The question isn’t whether Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast in history. The question is whether any gymnast in the future can ever do what she can do right now. Unless children become genetically engineered to be gymnasts, there may never be another gymnast as great as Biles.
- mathgladiator 5y ago
  Or, her strength and height inspire people like her to step up and the gymnastic game is changed forever. This feels like a fatalistic approach which we don't do in so many activities.
- waterfowl 5y ago
  she's 4'8 - that's not like an extreme left end of the curve dwarf height on a global scale, is it? NBA centers are all 7 feet tall which precludes most people from being NBA centers, but there's a whole world and somehow they manage to fill the jobs. It seems most GOATs are eventually supplanted because things that are unfathomable become table stakes, think like triple axels in figure skating. Forever is a really long time.
- dmurray 5y ago
  Is she actually better than the best men, or is that an impossible comparison to make? Several men have landed this move before, though I've no doubt there are some things she does that no man can do as well.
  - lupire 5y ago
    No one is saying she's best than the best men. Male gymnasts are just often ignored.
    - dmurray 5y ago
      The post I was replying to says she is better than the best men, at least at some things. > She can physically do things that no other gymnast, male or female, can do because of how short she is, how strong she is, and how skilled she is.