You think Bo beats MJ? Not saying he shouldn't, but I'm not sure he will.
I think so because of the framing of the question.
Greatest
athlete of all time.
Jordan is the greatest basketball
player of all time. (I will slap the first motherfucker to say it's LaBron.) Greatest player of your sport is be considered in the entire equation, certainly, but not the main criteria, IMO.
How much athleticism is involved in your sport, and how much you are able to translate that to other athletic activities should be the main factor, which is why I go Bo every time.
Jordan probably beat out Phelps mostly due to the fact that he
did play Baseball professionally as well, although, clearly not as well as Bo did as
his second best sport. Isn't Jordan supposed to be a not-too-shabby golfer too?