Which Aussie icon compares to Michael Jordan?

Hardly an icon even a potential one.

George Gregan

The coaches could be blamed for the illegal tackles their players make. I don't think Smith was involved in the tackle that maimed Alex MacKinnon but I do agree with your assessment of Smith. Great player shame about the tactics.

Cameron Smith and the word demeanor in the same sentence wow i'm stunned, back chats referees, abuses referees, uses illegal tackles to mame people, a real top role model for the kids.

Yes there is some more Mackay, Hunt, Lindrum, Charlton, etc etc i can name you hundreds better than the likes of Warne, Mcgrath etc etc.

The only 2 that would pick Warne is you and Warne himself outside of that not in the top 50 for me. Nowhere near Bradman's class or a heap more of Australian sportsmen or women like Betty Cuthbert and Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, we have had far better than him.

Shame, as in, he really didn't live up to his potential, way too lazy, he could have been an immortal. And re: Jordan, has there ever been another RL player besides Hayne with their own namesake clothing brand?

If you compare the sports basketball is much bigger than Rugby League but within each sport Provan could be considered by some but not me as an icon.

It is the main game in the A.C.T. and the national game of PNG and there are the Pacific Islands including the amazing New Zealanders and of course the fabulous Frenchmen. Rugby is played all over the world and many have growing Rugby League offshoots. Rugby League started as the professional version of Rugby. Also Rugby League is pretty big in Perth and they should get a team in the NRL soon.

Basketball is a world sport for tall people. It is much easier to drop or place the ball in the ring than throw from below. Tall people aren’t as effective in Rugby League, although they are good for diffusing bombs, so Americans would not be dominant if League ever goes global. Indigenous Australians elites like Artie Beetson and Jonathan Thurston displayed a variety of skills in ball playing and kicking and tackling to make them Rugby League world legends and Australia world champions. Aussie Rules is a good game for tall people.

I've seen that ground and it's about average size. To hit a hundred off 21 balls there was phenomenal. Anecdotally his whole innings took an hour.

Unfortunately it's very hard to compare an Aussie star to an American one, due to the relative influence of our cultures. Jordan is huge not only because of his talent and outlook, but due to the international prominence of American culture in the late 20th century. Put plainly, if Jordan was not American, it's hard to imagine he would be as significant as he is. Australian sports stars just can't compare to that, especially one from the relatively obscure sport of Rugby League. In my opinion, in terms of excellence and prestige, the only comparison in Australia is Don Bradman. The author of this article should have put a little more effort into researching his 'demeanour', because one sentence is not enough to cover the man. In an analysis of a number of prominent international sports stars, statistician Charles Davis wrote that statistically "no other athlete dominates an international sport to the extent that Bradman does cricket." Bradman was far ahead of anyone of his generation in terms of skills, preparation, and mental outlook. He also had far greater international significance than almost any other Australian sportsman, relative to his time. He is the only real comparison to Jordan.

What about Usain Bolt? In Rio he looked like an adult running along with primary school kids. He was teasing them over the last 30m. The thing with basketball is that not everybody in the world gives it a go. Running as fast as you can is something every abled body person tries - even as a kid just playing. The fastest human ever. A definitive statistic. And he was not from a powerful, first world nation. Every human that meets him knows that, without a doubt, he has run faster than anyone ever. Also, when it comes to dealing with pressure, nothing is more daunting than running an Olympic 100 m final. You have ten seconds (or less if you're Bolt) to deliver. You get one chance in 4 years. There's no gold medal up for grabs next season. If you miss this start you don't get another in 5 minutes. Bolt is an absolute giant of this century. In 50 years there will have been a host of champion basketball players and debate will happen over the best. Jordan may be talked about or he might be dismissed by the judges in 2070. I will take a guess and say that Bolt will still be talked about. Michael Phelps is also a name that should be mentioned - but swimming isn't as universal as running and you need an expensive 50m pool to train in which excludes many folk around the world. In team sports I can't think of anyone who dominates a sport as Bradman does. Even fans from other countries reluctantly agree he is the best batsman ever. There's no debate - the debate is about who places 2nd. Sobers, Hobbs, Tendulkar, Lara, Richards - ten names or twenty can easily be rattled off. Averages haven't changed in the sport since 1920. A batting average of 50 remains the mark of a great batsman. Bradman was double that! Was Jordan twice as good as Larry Bird? Were his game average points double Kobe's? Was a disgusting game tactic invented to blunt Jordan (Bodyline vs Bradman) that caused a rupture in the sport and forced significant rule changes? When Jordan played there wasn't even decent international competition for the USA to conquer. Football (soccer), as a team sport, has more competition and is harder to dominate and conquer. In my lifetime I've never seen a player like Messi when he's at his best. Like Bolt, he makes the otherwise brilliant around him look like kids playing against their big brother. I can't help but feel you've fallen for some good old USA hype and propaganda. Of course Americans think the best sportsperson ever has to come from the USA and be playing a sport they are infatuated with!

You certainly got me with Vatanen!

At a rough guess Steve Waugh Shane Warne Glen McGrath Wally Lewis Cam Smith, It is hard to say without having played with them but these guys seemed to just love to crush the opposition. Glen McGrath seemed to go after them more than the others.

Isn't he Dustin Johnson's father in law?

I saw a couple that put Ruth well in front with Bonds in fourth (eg this one https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_career.shtml) but sounds like this is a bigger debate that you may know more about than I.

Barry Bonds leads WAR ratings though....but we won't open that can of worms...

Australian statistician Charles Davis wrote a book about 20 years which tried to measure who were the greatest sportsmen of all time, looking at how far they were above average for professionals in their sport. His list: 1. Don Bradman 2. Pele 3. Ty Cobb 4. Jack Nicklaus 5. Michael Jordan. Of course, raw stats don’t tell you everything about impact on a game or comparisons between sports. Bradman played at a time when England was the only really serious competition. I believe Ty Cobb got there on his batting average, whereas most baseball statisticians would look at a figure like OPS (on-base plus slugging) for batting or Wins Above Replacement for all round impact, and Babe Ruth leads those categories easily.

But only America adds the context for the popularity to flourish. Lomu and Campese are only known in the former white colonies. And who'd know Vatanen? Ask an Aussie "Who is Gretzky?"