Jordan scored 13 points in one game as a rookie in 1984–85. He was only held under the age of 20 nine times. Michael Jordan averaged 33.6 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, and 11.4 assists per game, and he recorded a triple-double in 10 of 11 games (and had a career-high 17 assists in the game before that 11-game stretch-March 24th). Overall, it appears that even though this is only one game, it's not a very good representation of what Michael Jordan would become over time.
Here are some other famous players who had a great debut: Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Walton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Manute Bol, and James Worthy. Some people say that Chamberlain played with just one hand, but we will let you decide how much impact that had on him. Walton and Olajuwon both went on to win championships with their respective teams, while Bol died in practice before his first season could end. Worthy won two titles himself later in his career when everyone knew he was going to be around for awhile longer.
The 1984–85 Chicago Bulls were a pretty amazing team, especially since they weren't very good at all before that season. They finished with a record of 59-23, which is the most wins ever by a rookie team. The next year, they improved upon that record with a total of 60 wins.
It's worth mentioning that although these guys had great years, they weren't actually playing together yet.
When compared to Jordan's early All-Star Game efforts, the output does not appear to be such an aberration. Jordan was a rookie in 1984-85 and has 11 points in the 1987 All-Star Game. His average of 28.9 points per game that season would have been the highest by any NBA player this year - until Michael Jordan finished with 29.0 points per contest in 1989-90.
In addition to being the most prolific scorer in NBA history, Jordan is also second all-time in All-Star Game appearances with 14, behind Larry Bird's 16. Jordan has won more than half of his games (12-7) when competing in the midseason classic.
His dominance can be seen in the fact that he has averaged 26.3 points per game over those 14 contests. By comparison, LeBron James is averaging 27.5 points this year and Kevin Durant is scoring 26.8 points per game.
James played in his first All-Star Game in 2007 when he was still playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He went on to win the MVP award that year. Since then, no Cavalier has been invited to play in the All-Star Game.
Durant made his All-Star Game debut this year after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference.
Jordan finished each game with 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks. He averaged 1.6 steals per game during the regular season.
In addition to being one of the greatest players in NBA history, Michael Jordan is also one of the most prolific stealers in league history. Here are his career stats: 972 games played, 1,923 minutes played, 31,292 total points scored, 714 rebounds received, 495 assists made, and 245 steals obtained.
He averaged nearly 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one steal per game during his 20-year career.
The Chicago Bulls' record without him this season will be determined later this year when they play in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1992. In the meantime, here's to more MJ steals!
Jordan shoots six three-pointers in the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers on June 3, 1992, before turning to the audience and shrugging his shoulders. The series was won by the Bulls in six games.
Mr. Jordan has arrived, straight into the record books. Jordan scored 61 points on Thursday night, becoming the first player in 24 years – and the only one other than Wilt Chamberlain – to surpass 3,000 points in a single NBA season. He now has 3,024 points with one game left against Boston tonight.
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