Unsurprisingly, these men are all among the leaders in total free throws made in a career as well. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Karl Malone, and Kobe Bryant are the only players in NBA history ahead of Jordan in total regular-season points scored. Considering he could dunk from the free-throw line, it’s not hard to imagine Jordan using his trademark athleticism on the glass. Jordan is the franchise leader in rebounds for the Bulls. Yes, including his time with the Wizards. averaged at least 5.2 rebounds per game in every season of his career. Beyond his sophomore season, where he was sidelined by injury, M.J. Rebounding wasn’t Jordan’s bread and butter, but here’s another forum where he is probably a little underrated. His 5.7 assists per game for his entire postseason career, meanwhile, helps underscore how well Jordan saw the court and orchestrated gameplay. In 1988-89, Jordan averaged a career-best eight assists per game in the regular season. Given that Jordan faced more than his fair share of double-teams, there was often an open teammate to set up. As such, if he found a teammate, there was a good chance the shot was going to go in. Jordan played a bunch of his career alongside players like Scottie Pippen and Steve Kerr. logged as many assists as celebrated point guards like Sam Cassell and Mike Bibby.
Jordan isn’t always listed among the most pass-happy players in NBA history, but given how tremendously deadly he was scoring the ball, he was an underrated passer and play-maker. Playing against the Bulls in the 90s was an absolute calamity if you didn’t have your act together. Scottie Pippen, meanwhile, is seventh in steals. On either side of the ball, Jordan made things absolutely miserable. is even 123rd in blocks in NBA regular-season history. He was the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year, using his unique speed, athleticism and legendary competitiveness to hound opposing players.
Jordan isn’t just one of the most potent scoring threats in modern NBA history, he’s also one of the league’s best defenders. His Airness was an absolute force on offense. averaged north of 30 points per game in the regular season. He was putting numbers the old-fashioned way. And remember, this was a different era - he averaged just 0.8 3-point attempts. In 1986-87, Jordan added a monstrous 37.1 points per game. (At the time of this writing, he’s about on par with Rudy Gay for total games played.) That said, Jordan ranks only 96th in total games played in NBA history. Doing that for 15 seasons is sure to put you in rarified air. In fact, Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game for his entire career. Check out where MJ ranks statistically in NBA regular-season history.įor a guard to score this many points is extraordinary. Year after year after year, he dominated the competition in the Association and has the numbers to back it up.