Bias might have been projected as "the next Jordan" but people need to accept that it was never likely that he would actually be like Jordan.
Whenever an injury or tragedy cuts a players career short, people take the best possible case scenario and act like it was a foregone conclusion that it would have happened.
Bias was a great prospect. That's all we know about him. He played 0 NBA games. Don't tell me he was going to be some answer to Michael Jordan because while possible, we just can't know.
Harold freaking Minor was also projected as the next Jordan.
Bias wasn't projected as the next Jordan because they played at the same time and were considered similar in terms of talent level. If you don't want to believe this to be the case, then so be it, but I do encourage you to watch a lot of video of him and also watch his 30 for 30 so you can see for yourself what the hype was about.
The Baby Jordan Minor thing was because he looked like him, not because he played like him.
Bias was projected as the next Jordan because Jordan was currently dominating in the NBA and they played in a similar way.
Every year the top draft picks get overhyped and are given ridiculous player comps. The difference between everyone else and Len Bias is that Bias died before those silly comps wore off. No one is gonna go back and nit-pick at the guys game after he dies in such a tragic fashion.
Obviously adding an elite 3/4 prospect to a great team would have been awesome. The aging Celtics could have stretched a few more years out of their primes and an elite talent like Bias would obviously help.
I just want us to admit that the idea that he would have been some Michael Jordan level player is really just not likely.
It wasn't so much that he was compared to Jordan (which happened) as much as he was considered a "rival" to Jordan.
Everyone knew Bias was the Wilt to Russell and the Bird to Magic.
They projected this because Bias was that good.
Not because they "played in a similar way."
And that is exactly why Jordan is slightly overrated imo, because he had no real rival in his prime. That's why he grabbed 6 titles even with taking a break in between them. Olajuwon became a legit rival for a short time, but unfortunately Jordan was not in the league in that period.
Russell had Wilt.
Bird had to deal with Magic's Lakers, Thomas and the Bad Boy Pistons, some [dang] tough Sixers teams to name a few.
Lebron has had the KG era Celtics, the Duncan era Spurs, and the GS Warriors to deal with.
Jordan never had a legit rival, and it's not because he was that much greater than guys like Magic, Bird, Lebron, Wilt, Russell, etc., its that the guys who could have been his equals were lost for one reason or another before they had the chance.