Championship celebrations were the norm for Michael Jordan throughout his NBA career.
By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. Although, a summary of his basketball career and influence on the game inevitably fails to do it justice, as a phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of fundamental soundness, grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire, Jordan single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar.
Even contemporaneous superstars recognized the unparalleled position of Jordan. Magic Johnson said, “There’s Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us.” Larry Bird, following a playoff game where Jordan dropped 63 points on the Boston Celtics in just his second season, appraisal of the young player was: “God disguised as Michael Jordan.”
A brief listing of his top accomplishments would include the following: Rookie of the Year; Five-time NBA MVP; Six-time NBA champion; Six-time NBA Finals MVP; Ten-time All-NBA First Team; Nine time NBA All-Defensive First Team; Defensive Player of the Year; 14-time NBA All-Star; Three-time NBA All-Star MVP; 50th Anniversary All-Time Team; Ten scoring titles — an NBA record and seven consecutive matching Wilt Chamberlain; Retired with the NBA’s highest scoring average of 30.1ppg; Hall of Fame inductee.
Considered one of the greatest players ever, Michael Jordan made 11 All-NBA teams, won 5 MVPs, 6 Finals MVPs and 6 NBA titles and crafted a legendary legacy.
Jordan, coming off a gold medal performance at the 1984 Olympics, prospered in the pro game with a fabulous first season, earning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He averaged 28.2 ppg, (third behind Bernard King and Bird) 6.5 rpg and 5.9 apg. He also was selected to the All-NBA Second Team. Perhaps more important, the Bulls improved to win 11 more games than in the season prior to his arrival and made it to the playoffs. Jordan averaged 29.3 ppg in the first round series, but the Bulls lost in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
In his first season, he did not have outstanding shooting range and was thought to roam too often on defense, resulting from playing trapping defenses in college according to his first NBA coach, Kevin Loughery. Yet, his medium game — eight- to 15-feet from the basket was impressive as evidenced by his .515 field-goal shooting percentage and his steals tended to compensate for his less than stellar straight-up defense.
Improvement in both areas would come and he would ultimately be regarded as threat from anywhere on the floor and one of the best ever one-on-one defenders.
Even in the exhibition season before his rookie campaign, players and coaches were sure that the Rockets and Blazers would regret their picks. King, the eventual leading scorer for that upcoming season, seemed sure as well when he spoke to Hoop magazine after a 1984 preseason game.
“All I can say,” King said, “is that the people in Chicago are in for a real treat.”
He was right. Jordan’s greatness and likeability was apparent in just his first season. Home attendance at the venerable Chicago Stadium and on the road rose dramatically. Fans of opposing teams were seemingly content to see their team lose if in return Jordan put on show.
Jordan’s personal style was equally authentic and unique as his basketball skills. Nike signed him to a major shoe deal because of his anticipated appeal, but he surpassed even the loftiest of expectations. One version of the sneakers he wore in his first preseason was an unseen before blend of his team’s red and black colors that the NBA initially considered in violation of the “uniformity of uniform rule.” Subject to fines if he continued to wear them, he occasionally did and the demand for that version and others in the Air Jordan line was unprecedented.
That goal was quickly accomplished as later that season he was voted a starter to the 1985 All-Star East squad. There, he probably faced one of his first professional obstacles. The media ran with the idea that Eastern All-Star teammate Detroit Pistons’ Isiah Thomas, had led a “freeze-out” of the golden rookie limiting his opportunities to score by not passing him the ball.
Jordan scored seven points in 22 minutes and was left to face questions concerning the alleged conspiracy. The affair grew a life of its own over the years, but Thomas refuted such accusations. The whole ordeal would come full circle when Thomas, as the coach of the 2003 East All-Star squad, persuaded Toronto Raptors’ Vince Carter to relinquish his starting role to Jordan in his last midseason classic.
Three games into his second season, he broke a bone in his left foot. He was voted to the All-Star team but could not play as he was sidelined for 64 games. However, he came back late in the year to score a NBA playoff-record 63 points in a first-round game against the Celtics. The Bulls lost that game 132-131 in double-overtime and the series in a sweep, but Jordan averaged 43.7 ppg in the series. If there were any doubters to that point about Jordan’s ability, surely there were no more.
Starting with the 1986-87 season he began a career-long onslaught on the NBA record book. That year saw him average 37.1 points in the first of seven consecutive seasons in which he led the league in scoring and topped 30 points per contest. Jordan scored 40 or more points in nine consecutive games and 23 straight in one game to set an NBA record. At the All-Star Weekend, he won the first of two consecutive Slam Dunk competitions. However, again, the Celtics swept the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs
In the 1988-89 season, perhaps Jordan’s best statistical campaign, he led the league with 32.5 ppg, was 10th in assists with a career high 8.0 apg and had a career high 8.0 rpg. He also ranked third in steals with 2.89 per game. Jordan propelled the Bulls past the Cavs in the first round of the playoffs in the decisive Game 5, scoring the memorable buzzer-beater floating jumper over Craig Ehlo for a 101-100 victory.
Prior to the beginning of the 1989-90 season, Sports Illustrated published an article on Jordan’s emerging golf game and his thoughts about joining the PGA Tour after his NBA career was over. Chicago management, however, was making other moves.
That offseason, the Bulls let go head coach Doug Collins and hired Phil Jackson. Under Jackson’s leadership, the Bulls instituted the triangle offense — a fluid passing and cutting system that created opportunities for all five players on the floor to score. But when the play broke down and the shot clock waned, Jordan had free reign to create his own shot.
The Bulls went 55-27 that season, the franchise’s best record since 1971-72. Jordan set his career game-high in points with 69 against the Cavs in a 117-113 overtime win. He also emerged as a 3-point threat, posting 37.6% — 100 percentage points above his previous best. However, the Pistons defeated the Bulls in a tough seven-game series in the 1990 Eastern Conference finals.