Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time, make no mistake about that. Being smart enough to not fall for recency bias is important because LeBron James’ record-breaking night last week has made a strong case for The King, although he is still not quite the GOAT. Jordan’s ability to dominate the NBA in his prime was unprecedented, as he was the best player in the world as soon as he stepped foot in the NBA.
- 1993-94 NBA Season
- 1994-95 NBA Season
- 1998-99 NBA Season
- 1999-00 NBA Season
- 2000-01 NBA Season
- Michael Jordan Would Easily Break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s All-Time Scoring Record
- Next
- Ranking Michael Jordan’s Best NBA Finals Performances
- Michael Jordan’s Best Accomplishments Per Season: The GOAT Won Absolutely Everything
- Michael Jordan’s Career-High Against Every NBA Team: The GOAT Destroyed The Cleveland Cavaliers
- Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James Career Comparison: The GOAT Against The Second Greatest Of All Time
- The Chicago Bulls All-Time GOAT Pyramid
We have never seen a player with Jordan’s style, grace, and near-perfection on both ends of the court. Michael was also the greatest scorer of all time, winning 10 scoring titles and holding the highest career PPG average of 30.1 PPG. The Chicago Bulls superstar could score in any way that he wanted, using his athleticism and perimeter-scoring ability to get buckets better than anyone else. Amazingly, Michael is ranked 5th all-time in total career points behind LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Kobe Bryant despite only playing 15 seasons with 13 seasons considered “full-time” as he missed the bulk of 1986 with a foot injury and returned with 17 games left in the 1995 season.
LeBron’s record-breaking performance last week has raised some questions as to Michael Jordan’s ability to break the record had he not missed too many seasons. Specifically, Jordan retired after winning 3 straight NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, only to return with 17 games left in the 1995 season. Not to mention, Michael retired a second time between 1999 and 2001, only to return to the Washington Wizards in 2002. What if Michael never retired and played those 5 extra seasons, with regard to individual success?
Quite possibly, Jordan would have won at least 2 more championships, taking his immortal status to another level. Specifically, the shooting guard would have shattered Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record as well because he would have posted big scoring numbers over those 5 seasons to be the #1 scorer of all-time ahead of the dominant center before LeBron broke it. We already predicted how many points LeBron James will have before the end of his career, so let us do the opposite and go back in time to predict Michael Jordan’s all-time point total had he never retired on two occasions. Here is the full analysis and breakdown of Michael Jordan becoming the all-time leading scorer in NBA history had he never retired twice.
1993-94 NBA Season
Total Games: 82
Points Per Game: 33.5
Total Points: 2,747
In 1993, Michael Jordan averaged 32.6 PPG at 29 years old as he won his third NBA championship. The shooting guard was fresh off his 7th straight scoring title, and there was simply no answer for the superstar player. Unfortunately, off-court circumstances completely derailed Jordan’s career as there are some theories as to why the dominant superstar retired from the NBA for the first time.
Assuming Jordan averaged 32.6 PPG in his prime and was fresh off a 3-peat, Michael would have likely averaged 33.5 PPG on at least 45% shooting from the field for the Chicago Bulls. At the same time, the superstar shooting guard would have likely played all 82 games because he played every game 4 times before the 1993 season. With all 82 games and an 8th straight scoring title, Jordan would have dropped over 2,700 total points in the season.
1994-95 NBA Season
Total Games: 82
Points Per Game: 33.0
Total Points: 2,706
Yet again, it is extremely likely that Michael Jordan would have completed another 82-game season. Now, you might be wondering why the superstar shooting guard would have completed a full season without missing a game. The logic is that the superstar shooting guard returned in the 1995 season to play 17 games, so it is very likely Jordan plays 65 more games in the season. In his career as a whole, MJ played 9 seasons with zero missed games, 1 season with 1 missed game, 1 season with 2 missed games, and 1 season with 4 missed games.
Of course, Michael would play only 18 games in his sophomore season due to injury and 17 games when he returned in the 1994 post-retirement. So it is likely Michael stays healthy, as usual, and posts a solid 33.0 PPG on spectacular efficiency. With over 2,700 points scored in the season yet again, Michael Jordan is already accumulating a large number of points. Again, MJ would be 31 years old and in his prime, so this is nowhere near farfetched.
1998-99 NBA Season
Total Games: 48
Points Per Game: 28.5 PPG
Total Points: 1,368
The 1998-99 NBA season was a lockout-shortened season with only 50 games played per team, so it is likely that Jordan, at 35 years old, would have missed 2 games and would have completed 48 games. Over that span, it is likely MJ would average 28.5 PPG which is a bit under the 28.7 PPG he posted in the 1998 NBA season in which he won his 6th NBA championship.
With only 48 games played and 50 to aim for, Michael would overcome his increasing age to dominate the competition in a limited time. Giving a 35-year-old superstar that much rest would have been bad news for the rest of the league, and we do not know how the Chicago Bulls supporting cast would have been, so it is safe to assume that no championship will be won. Still, MJ would have likely won another scoring title and put up over 1,300 points.
1999-00 NBA Season
Total Games: 81
Points Per Game: 27.0
Total Points: 2,187
At 36 years old, Michael Jordan would start declining in his offense but still play 81 games. The shooting guard would average his lowest average since his sophomore season, in which he only played 18 games due to injury, but would still manage over 2,100 points in the season. Using a mix of perimeter shooting and dwindling but still prevalent athleticism, Jordan would be an offensive superstar.
Averaging 27.0 PPG at 36 years old is very possible, especially when seeing LeBron James post 30.2 PPG at 38 years old. In the 2000 season, the offense was getting more prevalent in the league as defense was beginning to get taken away slowly, so a 27.0 PPG average seems extremely reasonable for the GOAT.
2000-01 NBA Season
Total Games: 72
Points Per Game: 25.4
Total Points: 1,829
Michael would start his decline, which would eventually show itself in the 2002 season, in which we actually saw the shooting guard average 22.9 PPG in his first season with the Washington Wizards. Therefore, before his relatively steep decline at age 38, MJ would average around 25 PPG at 37 years old and do so at slightly lower efficiency. Father Time is undefeated, after all.
Jordan’s 25.4 PPG average means the superstar shooting guard puts up at least 1,800 points for the Washington Wizards. Is there any doubt that a dominant scorer in his prime would manage to average at least 25 PPG in an era with less defense? Jordan won’t win a championship during the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant era, but he would still be padding his scoring totals.
Michael Jordan Would Easily Break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s All-Time Scoring Record
Michael Jordan Original Total Points: 32,292
1993-94 NBA Season: 2,747 Points
1994-95 NBA Season: 2,706 Points
1998-99 NBA Season: 1,368 Points
1999-00 NBA Season: 2,187 Points
2000-01 NBA Season: 1,829 Points
Total Points If Michael Jordan Played Just 4 More Seasons: 43,129 Points
Assuming Michael Jordan does not retire and miss 5 seasons, he would have added at least 10,000 more points to his career total. That means that by his retirement following the 2003 season at 39 years old, Michael would have ranked 1st all-time with approximately 43,129 total career points. The superstar shooting guard would have had his two best non-retirement seasons in 1994 and 1995, the two years in which Michael would have won both championships alongside Scottie Pippen in Chicago.
Jordan would have scored over 5,000 points in the 1994 and 1995 seasons combined, an incredible number of points to add to his Hall of Fame total. Even at ages 35, 36, and 37, Jordan would still be talented enough to score almost 1,800 points per season on average. The lockout-shortened season in 1999 would have meant that Michael would have scored only 1,368 total points, but that is a circumstance that is unavoidable. Not to mention, the superstar’s last few years would be nothing more than a scoring record surge, similar to what we see from LeBron James these days.
With over 43,000 points, Michael Jordan would have shattered Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record, with LeBron James trying to chase the GOAT down until this day. Michael would have passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1999 lockout-shortened season, which is amazing to consider. It is unfortunate that Michael had to retire twice because avoiding the first retirement phase would have added a ton of points, and playing in the lockout-shortened season at least would have placed the GOAT number one on the all-time scoring list.
Not that it affects Michael Jordan’s legacy, but being number one on the all-time scoring list would have given any other player, including LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar zero chance of being in the GOAT conversation. Had Jordan never retired, we are looking at the greatest athlete of all time, and there would be zero arguments for anybody else because being number one on all-time points would be yet another achievement that no player has.
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