Michael Jordan stats - 5 untouchable feats of His Airness
The NBA's record books could essentially be described as the autobiography of Wilt Chamberlain. But especially when it comes to statistics pertaining to scoring and defense combined, it might as well be construed as Michael Jordan's career chronicles. According to a statistical analysis of the best seasons by guards, 13 of Jordan's 15 seasons rank among the top 20 seasons ever - they carried out this study last year.
His Airness is recognized as the greatest to ever play the game for several reasons. You can point to his professionalism - he was the first to do so many things off the court as well as on it. You can look at his play, and the way several Hall of Famers have been left ringless despite having illustrious careers that would be a cause of inspiration for millions players worldwide.
Or you can dissociate all the subjectivity and immerse yourself in the pure statistical brilliance that Jordan's stat sheets from his heyday provide. Either way, you could not possibly be unbiased if you come to any conclusion other than the fact that he's the greatest to ever do it, and he did it better than the world's best neurosurgeon treated his patients, the world's best magician to captivate his audiences or the world's best programmer wrote code.
The following is a list of his achievements that could conceivably stand the test of time for 20 more years:
#1 Only rookie to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals
Michael Jordan came into the league as NBA-ready as any guard ever. This shows in his statistics - he's the only player to lead his team in 4 of the 5 major statistical categories over the course of an entire regular season campaign, being the Bulls' best scorer (28.2 ppg), rebounder (6.5 rpg), assist man (5.9 apg) as well as leading them in steals (2.4 spg).
He also led the team in 4 categories during the 1987-88 season - scoring (35.0 ppg), assists (5.9 apg), steals (3.2 spg) and blocks (1.6 bpg).
Only 4 players in NBA history have averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game as rookies - Tyreke Evans, LeBron James and Oscar Robertson. Only MJ, of these four players, also averaged more than 2 steals per game.
Also read: All about Michael Jordan’s net worth