Most basketball fans have heard Spike Lee's argument as to why Michael Jordan is the greatest player in history. Five Michael Jordans could beat five Bill Russells or five Wilt Chamberlains, the director has said. And he would know; after all, he is a die-hard Knicks fan who witnessed the Bulls star crush New York's chances to win a championship year after year during Jordan's prime.

Have Your Voice Heard: Become an Odyssey Creator

While the most popular Knicks fan of all time is right, his argument is unrealistic simply because five of the same person on one team (or anywhere at one time for that matter) is impossible. Which is why I'm here to provide statistical evidence to prove just how great Jordan not only was but still is.

Exhibit A is Russell Westbrook's ridiculous triple-double hot streak from 2015. The Thunder guard--whom you can read more about here--managed to have nine triple-doubles in 30 games last season. In doing so, he tied Fat Lever, Jason Kidd, and Magic Johnson for the most triple-doubles in 30 games during that time, according to ESPN. That's great company.

Now, I'm gonna let Westbrook finish his career with many more triple-doubles (hopefully), but Michael Jordan had 12 in as many games in 1988-89.

This season Russell Westbrook had triple-doubles in six straight games. Both Jordan and Oscar Robertson triple-doubles in seven consecutive games during their careers. This speaks to how great and dominant all of these players are really.

For context, however, Westbrook went on that streak last season after his then-teammate Kevin Durant was sidelined with an injury, so naturally his production levels were going to have to go up to accommodate for the absence of his fellow superstar.

Speaking of Durant, earlier this season, he extended his streak of 20-point games to 72, which is undoubtedly impressive. That tied Michael Jordan for the fourth-longest streak in the last 50 seasons.

When it comes to the most points per 36 minutes in NBA history, Jordan is on the list. What's really impressive, however, is that in 41,000+ minutes, Jordan averaged a ridiculous 28.3 points/36 minutes. Now, granted having that much playing time certainly allows you to score more points, but look at it from the other side: Even with the grueling length of NBA games and seasons, Jordan still managed to produce at a high level despite all those minutes.

Still need more statistical proof that Jordan is the GOAT? There's plenty, but before I get into specifics, let me say that almost anytime you hear about a player in today's game accomplishing something great, he or she will almost always have passed or a reach a mark set by Jordan. That, to me, is what makes Jordan the greatest: He is the benchmark for all who have come after him. And it's not just in a couple of categories or in easy feats: He set the bar high for virtually every record there is.

That being said, let's go back to the start of this season when DeMar DeRozan started the year in mid-season form by averaging 34 points through the first eight games. That's cool and all, but Jordan was just as productive in 1989, according to ESPN, during his fifth year in the league--before he reached his prime (where DeRozan is currently) or won his first championship. That's not to take anything away from Toronto's stud player, but for Jordan it's another notch on his belt, to which there are many. Not to mention Jordan accomplished the same feat (30 points in eight of the first nine games) to start the 1986-87 season as well.

Of course Jordan holds a lot of franchise records, too. As of December 5th, the Bulls' next great star Jimmy Butler had scored 20+ points in 14 consecutive games. Michael Jordan scored 20+ in his final 23 games (including playoffs) with the Bulls, according to CSN Chicago reporter Christopher Kamka.

As mentioned earlier, for Jordan to be as efficient and effective as he was late into his career is remarkable in its own right, especially considering the less-than-spectacular final seasons of future Hall-of-Famers Kevin Garnett, Tim Ducan, and Kobe Bryant.

Yes, technically Jordan's final game was played in a Wizards uniform, but to that I counter with how many people look at Brett Favre's NFL career and say, "Well, he was pretty bad with the Jets..." (The answer is the worst kind of people.)

But since I brought it up, here's another stat to show just how great, dominant, and gifted was as a basketball player: John Wall, the Wizards' best player right now, has as many 50-point games for the franchise as Michael Jordan. And even Wall's 50-point outing happened just recently.

Of course these are all individual statistics, and Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson are right there either before or after him in some categories, but what the the collection of them represents is what's important: Even after his career has been over, Michael Jordan's body of work still proves to be top of the class.

And then of course there's this statistic, which is my personal favorite: 6-0 in the Finals.

Despite what all the crying Jordan memes may want you to believe, the guy rarely, if ever, took Ls. That's greatness.