I hate that everyone just concedes that Jordan is the greatest of all time.
When Jordan came into the league the NBA had just signed a huge tv deal. Prior to that, you listened to the games on the radio and if you were lucky you could watch the Finals on tape delay. In the 80's and 90's the NBA cranked out biography/highlight videos of him almost every year. The game had become hugely popular (largely because of the Magic/Bird rivalry) and the marketing of the game was exploding. Companies like Nike and Gatorade pushed Jordan so hard you couldn't get away from the guy.
If guys like Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the same level of exposure that Jordan had, the discussion would be very different. I'm not trying to take anything away from Jordan because he was as good as his hype. I'm just not convinced that he should be the undisputed greatest of all time.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 3 time NCAA champion, 6 time NBA MVP, 6 time NBA Champion, NBA all-time leading scorer.
Bill Russell - 2 time NCAA champion, 5 time NBA MVP, 11 time NBA Champion, 22.5 rebounds per game.