Michael Jordan is a talent that has never been seen before in any sport in the world. He is wholly unique, with a spirit to crush his opponent, and usually being able to do that. Sadly, there have been plenty of times in Jordan’s illustrious career when he has faltered in making his mark.
- 5. 1986-87 Chicago Bulls: 40-42 Record (48.0% W/L)
- 4. 1984-85 Chicago Bulls: 38-44 Record (46.3% W/L)
- T2. 2001-02 Washington Wizards: 37-45 Record (45.1% W/L)
- T2. 2002-03 Washington Wizards: 37-45 Record (45.1% W/L)
- 1. 1985-86 Chicago Bulls: 30-52 Record (36.6% W/L)
- Losing Records Never Made Michael Jordan A Loser
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Basketball is a team sport, and as a result, individually brilliant players can sometimes be held back by a team that can’t play up to their level. We have seen this happen with almost every all-time great outside of maybe Tim Duncan because most generational talents end up being drafted by weak teams.
Everyone knows how the Bulls supporting cast let Michael Jordan down in the early years of his career. But there have been seasons where the future 6-time Finals MVP has seen his teams lose more games than they won.
We are taking a look at the 5 worst seasons in MJ’s career, the only seasons where his team ended up with a losing record.
5. 1986-87 Chicago Bulls: 40-42 Record (48.0% W/L)
In his third season in the NBA, Jordan almost took the Chicago Bulls to a positive winning percentage but fell short by 2 games. This was the first season of Doug Collins as the head coach in Chicago, making a massive improvement on the team’s win/loss record from the seasons preceding this one. MJ had two 60-point games that season and became the first NBA player to reach 3,000 points in a season since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1962-63. This is arguably one of the most impactful regular season campaigns of his career.
The NBA standings didn’t end up being especially punitive, as MJ’s Bulls still made the playoffs that season as the 8th seed and matched up against the Boston Celtics. Sadly, Jordan had no answer for Boston for the second consecutive year, and Larry Bird would brutally sweep MJ’s Bulls, despite Michael’s best efforts.
He averaged a career-high 37.1 points with 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.5 blocks. This was the first scoring championship of MJ’s career and would be far from the last one.
4. 1984-85 Chicago Bulls: 38-44 Record (46.3% W/L)
Michael Jordan’s rookie year in the league proved to be an extremely challenging one, but a season he handled extremely well, looking back in hindsight. MJ burst onto the NBA landscape this season as an absolute scoring monster despite his inexperience at the pro level. Jordan put up historic stats, averaging 28.2 points as a rookie and handily taking home Rookie of the Year honors.
With only the bottom 3 teams in the conference missing out on the playoffs in that era, MJ’s Bulls made it into the playoffs even with their 46.3 winning percentage. The Sidney Moncrief-led Milwaukee Bucks sent the Bulls out of the playoffs, but Jordan managed to steal one win away on the stage that he soon came to be defined by.
MJ averaged 28.2 points as a rookie, along with 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.4 steals.
T2. 2001-02 Washington Wizards: 37-45 Record (45.1% W/L)
Michael Jordan retired from basketball after winning the 1998 NBA Finals but came back to the NBA with the Washington Wizards with the hope of possibly transitioning into running and owning the franchise. While MJ would never end up owning the Wizards, he spent 2 amazing seasons with them and worked on the roster around him while being an active player.
This season is notable for MJ’s choice as the No. 1 pick in the 2001 Draft, Kwame Brown, being a bust and having his fair share of fights with the legend. The Wizards missed the playoffs with their 37-45 record, as MJ’s averages of 22.9 points with 5.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists weren’t enough to put the Wizards over the top.
MJ was 38 this season and had arguably one of the finest seasons of anyone that age unless LeBron James does something incredible this year.
T2. 2002-03 Washington Wizards: 37-45 Record (45.1% W/L)
Out of the 5 seasons on this list, Doug Collins has the dubious distinction of having coached 3 of them. The 2002-03 Wizards had the exact same record as the team from the year prior, despite wholesale changes to the squad that included losing players like Richard Hamilton, Chris Whitney, and Popeye Jones, among others.
This was the MJ retirement tour, as everyone knew that Jordan’s decision to hang up his boots at the age of 40 is most likely going to be a permanent decision this time. Vince Carter sacrificed his spot in the All-Star game that season for MJ as everyone spent the year appreciating the legend that we saw dominate basketball for almost 2 decades.
He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in his farewell season, showing the world that no matter who comes after him, there will never be another Michael Jordan.
1. 1985-86 Chicago Bulls: 30-52 Record (36.6% W/L)
The single-worst season in Michael Jordan’s entire career came in his sophomore season in the NBA. After riding the high of beating the vaunted Hakeem Olajuwon for the Rookie of the Year award in 1985, MJ had to come into the next season trying to help the Bulls take another step forward. However, they ended up taking a step backward and saw their record tumble to just 30 wins on the season.
Jordan played only 18 games that season, after breaking his foot in the third game of the season against the Golden State. As a result, it brought MJ’s second-worst single-season points average of his career, scoring just 22.7 points per game with 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.4 steals.
Even with 30 wins, the Bulls made it into the playoffs, where they had their first of two encounters against Larry Bird. This is the series when MJ had his iconic 63-point game, fighting like a man possessed to ensure his team can walk away with one win. Bird’s Celtics were unbeatable at that time, and Jordan fell to them, not knowing he would face the same fate next season.
Losing Records Never Made Michael Jordan A Loser
Despite these failures, Jordan managed to persevere and become the winner we all know him as today. Players can control only what they can control, and MJ tried his best to control as much as he could when he was on the court. When the Bulls were bad, even his historic performances couldn’t lift them up enough.
Winning makes up for all the losing, and nobody in Chicago is complaining that the MJ and the Bulls got swept by the Boston Celtics in consecutive playoffs because of the 6 championships MJ brought to the city shortly after.
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