Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest of all time, and NBA writer Ben Stinar pointed out that he played in every single game during the Chicago Bulls’ second three-peat. While some of today’s stars have criticized the new 65-game threshold for awards, as they believe it is a bit much, Jordan showed the game and the fans a lot of respect by ensuring that he suited up every single night.
Stinar also listed what exactly Jordan did in those years, and it looks very special when compared to today’s players.
– 304 straight games
– 3 straight NBA Championships
– 32-34 years old
From 1995-96 to 1997-98, Jordan averaged 29.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the regular season. He won two MVPs and three scoring titles in that span. They were the last three of the 10 consecutive scoring titles that Jordan had won when he played a full season for the Bulls.
Unsurprisingly, Jordan bettered those averages in the playoffs, putting up 31.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in his three title runs. They all culminated with him winning Finals MVP as well. He was 6-0 in the Finals with six Finals MVP after that, and it’s one of the reasons why Jordan is considered to be the GOAT.
In all, Jordan would end up having nine seasons in the NBA where he didn’t miss a game, which is remarkable. When you look at what Jordan accomplished in those three seasons, in particular, Stinar says it makes no sense to celebrate today’s players for playing 65 games.
It’s fair to say that we shouldn’t be giving players a pat on the back for managing to play that many games. The fact that it has come to that is really an indictment on today’s stars. The NBA having to come up with this 65-game rule to be eligible for any award was a bad look for the players in itself.
With some of the big names load managing so often, the league had to find a way to get them on the court, and this was what they came up with. Unfortunately, this ends up hurting players who were genuinely injured, like Tyrese Haliburton, but he can blame his fellow stars for that.
Jaylen Brown Suggested The Minimum Game Requirement Should Be 58
Jaylen Brown, vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, is one of the stars who thinks the 65-game threshold for awards should be lowered. Brown suggested the NBA needs to bring down the minimum game requirement to 58.
“It’s tough because honestly, I do believe that if you win any type of award, I think you should have to play a significant amount of the season. We’ve got guys who play half the season and win MVP, I’m not a big fan of that.”
“But maybe 65 games might be a little too severe. Maybe they’re lessening to 58 or something like that. Or something a little bit less. 65 is a little bit tough. But I definitely think that to win awards you should play the majority of the games.”
If they do that, someone else will inevitably say it should be 50. I honestly don’t believe it is unreasonable to ask that a player play in 65 out of 82 games. The current rules allow them to miss around 20% of the season, which is just fine.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
