Michael Jordan’s scoring numbers almost seem unbelievable when you look at them on paper. It’s hard to believe that any player was able to dominate to the degree that MJ did during his time in the league.
Jordan entered the league in 1984, and instantly became one of the best players in the NBA. On any given occasion, MJ could go off on a scoring spree and single-handedly dominate the opposition defense.
Jordan’s scoring wasn’t just limited to his position. Despite what fans of today think, MJ was actually a very versatile player and could play multiple positions, thanks to his prowess on the offensive and defensive end of the court.
In fact, Jordan played at point guard for a 10-game stretch for the Chicago Bulls, during which he averaged a triple-double. MJ showed that he could get his own, while also setting up his teammates and cleaning up the boards during a game.
Jordan’s scoring numbers are absolutely fantastic. And it seemed like he made it his personal mission to always outscore every member of the opposition. But to this day, there is only one NBA player to outscore Michael Jordan in a single series.
Surprisingly, that player is Terry Cummings. Cummings is the only player to outscore Jordan in a playoff series. This would be in the 1984-85 NBA Playoffs when Cummings and the Bucks eliminated Jordan and the Bulls.
Out of 269 opponents he has faced off against in the postseason, MJ has outscored (you guessed it) 268 of them. Jordan faced great players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone among others. However, among all those great names, only one player was able to outscore His Airness, and the margin was nearly nonexistent. The only player who outscored Jordan in a postseason series is Terry Cummings, in the first round of the 1985 playoffs, by 0.2 points per game (Cummings – 29.5, Jordan – 29.3).
Cummings scored 118 points during that series compared to Jordan’s 117. So he only beat him by a single point. But he can still lay claim to outscoring MJ in a playoff series. Such was the dominance of Jordan, that he only got beat by 1 point in his first playoff series during his rookie year.
What makes this even more staggering a statistic is the fact that Jordan played in playoff series against greats like Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, and even Karl Malone, but outscored them all.
In fact, Michael Jordan would continue to dominate the league for the rest of his peak. Jordan had a similar record in his career, outscoring 982 of the 983 opponents he faced in his career.
‘His Airness’ became a sensation in the league, primarily thanks to his scoring prowess. In fact, MJ won 10 consecutive scoring titles when playing full seasons between 1986 and 1998, truly showing how magnificent a scorer he was during the peak of his powers.
