Michael Jordan continues to be widely regarded as the greatest player in NBA history for his stellar career with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan put together an incredible resume during his time with the Bulls and did things that no one has been able to duplicate since. One such thing was accomplishing these seven incredible feats in one season.
– NBA Championship
– NBA Finals MVP
– Season MVP
– 1st Team All-NBA
– 1st Team All-Defensive
– Scoring Title
– Lead the Playoffs in Scoring
Now, pulling off all of these in one season is incredible but Jordan did it four times. The first time was in 1990-91, when he averaged 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Jordan then put up 31.1 points per game in the playoffs and led the Bulls to the title.
Jordan then did it again in the 1991-92 season by averaging 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. He upped his scoring to 34.5 points per game and ensured the Bulls won back-to-back titles.
Jordan was denied a personal three-peat the following season, with Charles Barkley winning MVP in 1993. He would be the one getting the last laugh, though, as the Bulls beat Barkley’s Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. Jordan retired after that series but he wasn’t gone for long. He returned in March 1995 and was back to making history not too long after.
In 1995-96, his first full season after returning, Jordan accomplished all seven of those feats again. He averaged 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the regular season and then put up 30.7 points per game in the playoffs.
Jordan could have gone back-to-back as he did in 1991 and 1992, but Karl Malone just about pipped him to MVP in 1997. Just like in 1993, though, Jordan got the last laugh as the Bulls beat the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals to win back-to-back titles.
The 1997-98 season would prove to be Jordan’s last with the Bulls and he signed off by pulling off those seven feats again. He averaged 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the regular season and followed that up by recording 32.4 points per game in the playoffs. His exploits helped the Bulls three-peat for the second time in that decade.
Jordan retired for the second time in 1998 after winning his sixth NBA title, but it was clear there was gas left in the tank. You wonder how many more times he could have accomplished this, had he not walked away from the game on those two occasions.
Getting back to three-peats, Jordan’s Bulls are one of two teams to pull that off in the last 59 years. The other, of course, was the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers. Jordan and O’Neal were named Finals MVPs in their respective runs and are the only two players to win the award three straight years.
All these accomplishments and more are why Jordan continues to be viewed as the GOAT.
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