It might seem like a slam dunk to call Michael Jordan “the greatest basketball player of all time,” but Professor Yago Colás says that there are more than just trophies and memorable shots to consider when making the case for—or against—“His Royal Airness.”

Yago Colás teaches the culture of sports in LSA, and his previous academic focus lay in studying fiction and narrative in relation to their social contexts. The title of his most recent book, Ball Don’t Lie, is playground slang used to suggest that an event in a basketball game either justifies or contradicts a contentious call.

Video by Natalie Condon