Hardly any NBA fans around the globe remain unfamiliar with the name Michael Jordan. It’s common knowledge that Jordan stands as an NBA icon, and a vast majority consider him to be the greatest player ever to grace the league.
The myths and stories surrounding Jordan might have been exaggerated. Especially as the years have gone on. After all, there aren’t too many players in league history with 6 NBA championships and an undefeated record in the NBA Finals.
Since Jordan never lost in the Finals all 6 times, it is hard to dispute that other stars in the league have had better primes. However, the question still remains regarding how fast Jordan developed into the legend he is viewed as today. In order to find out, we should take a better look at the stats he managed to put up during his rookie year in the NBA.
Michael Jordan averaged an impressive 28.2 points during his rookie season
Perhaps all the legendary tales of Jordan have some basis after all. He was truly an incredible talent from the get-go after having been drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 3rd pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. He managed to carve a reputation out for himself within his first year in the league and put the entire world on notice.
MJ averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 steals during his first year with the Bulls. Additionally, he also had 2.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. These are numbers that stars in today’s league would struggle to average during their absolute prime. Jordan put up these stats when he was 21 years old.
If we compare a 21-year-old Michael Jordan to a 21-year-old LeBron James, we can tell that King James was statistically better. He averaged 31.4 points, 6.6 assists, and 7 rebounds. However, we shouldn’t forget that LeBron was in his 3rd year while putting up these numbers since he came into the league at 19 years of age.
Coming back to Jordan, averaging 28.2 points in his rookie season is no ordinary feat. In fact, there are only 5 players throughout league history who managed to average more points. But that was during the 1960s and 1970s.
In any case, it is hard to refute that Michael Jordan was an incredible talent entering the league. Although he only played for 15 seasons, his prime will always remain unchallenged since he won 6 championships in the form of 2 three-peats.
