When you talk about Michael Jordan, the conversation usually drifts into the ethereal. People start talking about "the aura," the "killer instinct," and that shrug against Portland. It’s all very cinematic. But honestly, if you look at the raw stats for Michael Jordan, you realize the mythology isn't just nostalgia talking. The numbers are actually weirder and more dominant than the highlights suggest.
Most fans know the big ones. Six rings. Six Finals MVPs. Ten scoring titles.
But have you ever really looked at the 1987-88 season? It’s basically a video game glitch. Jordan averaged 35 points per game while shooting 53.5% from the floor. For a guard who wasn’t camping out under the rim, that’s absurd. To put that in perspective, he also won Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) that same year. He’s still the only player to ever win the scoring title and DPOY in the same season.
He didn't just beat people; he erased them on both ends.
The 1988 Stat Line That Defies Logic
Let’s get into the weeds of that '88 campaign because it’s the blueprint for his peak. Jordan averaged 3.2 steals and 1.6 blocks.
Think about that.
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A 6'6" shooting guard was protecting the rim better than many starting centers today. He recorded 259 steals and 131 blocks in a single season. Only two players have ever had 200 steals and 100 blocks in one year: Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. Jordan did it twice.
Some modern analysts like Tom Haberstroh have raised eyebrows at the home-court stat padding in Chicago Stadium back then. They pointed out that his "stocks" (steals + blocks) were significantly higher at home than on the road. Specifically, he had 165 steals at home versus 94 on the road in '88.
Does that devalue the DPOY?
Maybe a little, but even if you "normalize" the numbers, he was still a defensive nightmare. He was guarding the opponent's best player for 40 minutes a night and then dropping 35 on their heads.
The motor required for that is just... it’s different.
Why Playoff Stats for Michael Jordan Scale Differently
Most players see their efficiency dip in the playoffs. The defense gets tighter, the scouting gets better, and the whistles get swallowed. Jordan basically looked at those obstacles and decided to ignore them.
His career scoring average in the regular season is 30.1 PPG, which is already an NBA record. In the playoffs? It jumps to 33.4 PPG.
He is the only player in history to have a higher scoring average in the postseason than the regular season over a full career. During the 1993 Finals against the Phoenix Suns, he averaged 41.0 points per game. That wasn't a three-game sweep, either. That was a six-game war. He just kept coming.
The Underrated Passing Game
You’ve probably heard people call MJ a "ball hog" or a "pure scorer." That’s kinda lazy.
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In the 1988-89 season, Doug Collins moved Jordan to point guard for a stretch. The result? He recorded 10 triple-doubles in 11 games. He finished that season averaging 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 8.0 assists.
The only reason those assist numbers dropped later is because Phil Jackson implemented the Triangle Offense. The Triangle is designed to move the ball, not to let one guy hunt for assists. If Jordan had played in a modern "heliocentric" system like Luka Dončić or James Harden, his assist numbers would have likely been astronomical.
Shooting Efficiency in a Clogged Paint
We have to talk about the era.
Jordan played during the "Hand Check" era. Defenders could literally put a forearm on your hip to steer you. There was no "3-seconds in the key" defensive rule, so the paint was always packed with seven-footers.
Despite that, Jordan's career field goal percentage is 49.7%.
For a guy whose primary weapon was a mid-range jumper, hitting nearly half your shots is incredible. In the modern NBA, with more spacing and fewer bruisers in the paint, it’s scary to imagine what his "Effective Field Goal Percentage" (eFG%) would look like.
He wasn't a great three-point shooter—he shot 32.7% for his career—but he didn't need to be. He’d just go over you or around you.
Advanced Metrics: MJ vs. the Modern Era
If you’re a fan of advanced stats, the stats for Michael Jordan still hold up against the "stat-sheet stuffers" of today.
- PER (Player Efficiency Rating): Jordan retired with a career PER of 27.9, which was the highest in history until recently.
- Win Shares Per 48 Minutes: He leads this category significantly (.250), showing that his presence on the floor translated directly to winning more than almost anyone else.
- VORP (Value Over Replacement Player): Even with two retirements in his prime, he remains near the very top of the all-time list.
The most telling stat, though, might be the "100-Point Game" equivalents. While he never hit 100, he had 561 games where he scored 30 or more points. That is more than half of the games he ever played for the Bulls.
Consistency. That’s the real takeaway.
The Wizards Years: A Statistical Mirage?
People love to point at the Washington Wizards era to "humanize" his stats.
Yeah, he was 38 and 40 years old. Yeah, his knees were essentially bone-on-bone. But even then, he was putting up 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists a game.
At age 40, he played all 82 games. He averaged 37 minutes a night. Most players today are on a "load management" plan by age 32. Jordan was out there at 40, playing nearly 40 minutes a night because he simply wouldn't sit down.
Actionable Insights for the GOAT Debate
If you're using stats for Michael Jordan to settle a bar argument, don't just stick to the PPG. Look at the context that actually separates him from the pack:
- The Turnover Ratio: Despite his high usage, Jordan turned the ball over significantly less than other high-volume stars. His career average is just 2.7 per game. For comparison, many modern stars average 4 or 5.
- The "Never Outscored" Rule: From his first championship run until his final game as a Bull, Jordan was never outscored by an opponent in a playoff series. He faced 269 different playoff opponents and beat them all in the box score.
- The 1-9 Misconception: People say he couldn't win without Pippen because of his early 1-9 playoff record. Check the stats of those series. He was averaging 35-43 PPG against the Larry Bird Celtics. It wasn't a failure of stats; it was a failure of roster depth.
To truly understand Jordan’s impact, you have to look at the Basketball-Reference pages for the 1991-1993 seasons. The gap between his PER and the rest of the league during that first three-peat is the widest margin we've seen in the modern era.
If you want to dive deeper into how Jordan's numbers compare to today's stars, your next move is to look at Pace-Adjusted Stats. When you adjust Jordan’s 1987 season to the pace of the 2024-2025 NBA, his scoring average jumps from 37.1 to an estimated 40.2 PPG. That’s the real measure of the "Ghost" everyone is chasing.