As we all know, Michael Jordan is considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Why? He was 6-0 in finals series appearances. With that being said, he was second best to Wilt Chamberlain. Jordan came in second to scoring 3,000 points in a season in 1986.
Jordan tried his best, but Wilt Chamberlain had scored 4,000 points two decades earlier. However, Jordan did beat Wilt at one thing, and that is his 30.12 career points per game average beats Chamberlain’s by .05 points.
Rookie of the Year
Michael Jordan killed it his first year in the league by averaging 28 points per game, was named an All-Star, and won Rookie of the Year. If that wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, he also scored 40 or more points in six games. In most cases, it takes players one to two years to fully develop, but Michael Jordan proved he was ready to go from the start.
Jordan wasn’t satisfied with just being a rookie sensation. After two years of being in the NBA, he went back to college to get a degree in Geography.
Against All Odds
Something amazing happened when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls joined forces. For eight years they never lost more than three games in a row, including the playoffs! This included a total of 500 games and 126 playoff games.
There was a man named Ben Blatt, who was part of the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective, and he did the math to figure out the odds of something like this would ever happen again. His results founded that it would be one in 140. Many of us are wondering if it will ever happen again.
He Looked Up to Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan truly idolized Magic Johnson growing up. During his NBA career, he wanted to be referred to as “Magic” Jordan. We’re glad that it didn’t stick. “His Airness” has a better ring to it anyway.
In honor of Magic Johnson, Jordan had a personalized license plate made for his first car which was a 1976 Grand Prix. Long gone are his days of idolizing him because now he works with him as an owner. Johnson co-owns the Dodgers and Michael Jordan owns the Hornets.
One of the Top Players of All Time
It’s obvious that Michael Jordan holds many records, but there is one that he didn’t achieve until he reached his 40s. It is still true today that Jordan is the only player over the age of 40 to average 20 points during a game and score over 40 in a game.
In 1996, which was before his career was over, he was listed as one of the top NBA players of all-time.