Michael Jordan

Chicago Bulls (1984-1993, 1995-1998)

Washington Wizards (2001-2003)

5-time NBA MVP (’88, ’91, ’92, ’96, ’98)

1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year

6-time NBA Champion (’91, ’92, ’93, ’96, ’97, ’98)

6-time NBA Finals MVP (’91, ’92, ’93, ’96, ’97, ’98)

10-time All-NBA 1st Team (’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’96, ’97, ’98)

1985 All-NBA 2nd Team

9-time NBA All-Defensive 1st Team (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’96, ’97, ’98)

1985 NBA Rookie of the Year

14-time NBA All-Star

3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP (’88, ’96, ’98)

10-time NBA scoring champ (’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’96, ’97, ’98)

3-time NBA steals leader (’88, ’90, ’93)

One of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players (named in ’96)

Basketball Hall of Famer

You do not need me to tell you how good Michael Jordan was, but here we go. The man was a monster in college at North Carolina, won a gold medal in ’84 before making his Bulls debut and upon making that debut was immediately one of the best players in the game. By 1988 he had become an absolute force on both ends of the court. In that famous season, ’87-’88, Jordan won the scoring title, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP, an unprecedented accomplishment. After falling short in the playoffs in ’89 and ’90, to the eventual champion “Bad Boy” Pistons, Jordan and the Bulls were ready to begin their reign in 1991. That year the Bulls swept the Pistons in the conference finals and then beat Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the NBA Finals. Jordan continued to rack up scoring titles and All-NBA Teams in ’92 and ’93, and the Bulls completed a three-peat by beating the Blazers in ’92 and the Suns in ’93. In that same time, Jordan competed on the 1992 USA Olympic Team, much better known as the Dream Team. Jordan was the main reason why basketball was exploding in popularity worldwide, however, in 1993; he would retire from the game he was absolutely dominating.

Imagining the best basketball player in the world retiring to play minor league baseball is kind of crazy. But it was a reality, as Jordan missed the entire ’93-’94 season to focus on baseball. In March of ’95, though, Jordan returned for the final 17 games of the season and the playoffs. In those playoffs, the Bulls fell to the Magic in the second round in six games. The following season the Bulls came out with a vengeance, setting the league ablaze on their way to a 72-10 record. Jordan picked up another scoring title and MVP in his first full season back. The Bulls obviously won the title that year, and then again in both ’97 and ’98, both times in six games over the Utah Jazz. Game 6 of the ’98 Finals proved to be MJ’s swan song as a member of the Bulls. It is a grueling performance and the finish is so symbolic of his career as a whole. His final minute from that game earned the #1 spot on our greatest moments list. Following the ’98 season, Jordan retired for a second time.

While the off court stuff doesn’t come into consideration on this particular list, it would be wrong to not at least mention it here, both the good and the bad. First of all, Jordan was a notoriously tough teammate and ruthlessly competitive. His style of leadership was not for everyone. He also had a gambling issue, partly due to his relentless competitiveness. It is part of what made him great but also was a struggle. This isn’t necessarily the place for conspiracy theories, but they are there in regards to gambling and Jordan’s first retirement. The “good” off-court part of Jordan’s persona is the fact that he absolutely changed the game from a marketing perspective. Jordan and his agent, David Falk, were masterful when it came to brand management. Speaking of brands, Jordan Brand is still one of the most recognizable in the world, and has turned into a billion dollar company. Jordan is almost single handedly responsible for elevating the league in many different ways.

In 2001, Jordan was essentially running the Washington Wizards when he decided he wanted to come back and play. He had missed the three previous seasons, but the itch was clearly there. Many people like to pretend that the Wizards phase of his career didn’t happen, but that is not what we do here. Jordan had an inefficient ’01-’02 season, playing in 60 games and only shooting 41.6% from the field. However, he bounced back a bit in the ’03 campaign, playing in all 82 games and shooting 44.5% on 18.6 attempts per game. The Wizards days were filled with flashes and moments from Jordan, but he lacked the same consistency that made him so great in Chicago.

Jordan finally played his last game in April of 2003, nearly 19 years after he was drafted. At his peak, Jordan is the greatest player to ever touch a basketball, and that may never change. However, this particular list is greatest career and there is a player right behind MJ that may one day take that crown. But for now, His Airness is the GOAT.  

Other accomplishments that didn’t factor into this ranking

His #23 is retired by the Chicago Bulls

His #23 is retired by the Miami Heat

2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (’87, ’88)

2-time Olympic Gold Medal (’84, ’92, USA)

1982 NCAA Champion (North Carolina)

1984 Consensus national college player of the year (North Carolina)

2-time Consensus 1st Team All-American (’83, ’84, North Carolina)

1984 ACC Player of the Year (North Carolina)

2-time 1st Team All-ACC (’83, ’84, North Carolina)

1982 ACC Rookie of the Year

His #23 is retired by the University of North Carolina