SECTION 7 - The Myth that Jordan Played Weak Competition in the 80s/90s

In his rookie year, Jordan already had to go against
2x DPOY Moncrief in the playoffs. Not one guard
 in the 2000s has won even one DPOY.

So we saw the truth about the expansion teams, now it's time to take a look at the competition that Jordan faced in the playoffs for his entire career and how "weak" it is. Keep in mind how the 80s/90s players increased their scoring heading into the 2000s era on top of dominating 2000s players defensively when looking at this competition. And we saw 38-year old Jordan dominate the modern competition offensively, defensively, and team-wise before his knee injury.

People claim that the 80s teams were far superior the 90s teams that Jordan played, that the 2000s teams are tougher, or both. We'll see that not only is Jordan's 90s competition of equal quality to the 80s, but far superior to the 2000s as we have already seen before.

One of the criticisms against Jordan's era is the expansion teams making it easier to get a higher W-L record. But the truth is there was only 1 or 2 sub-20 teams every year from 1991/92 to 1996/97 and 0 in 1990/91. In 1997/98 there was a large number of sub-20 teams with 6, but 5 of them were in the Western Conference, so that wasn't of much benefit to Jordan coming out the East especially at playoff time. Next because more teams won 50/60 games it's expected that the lower teams will have more losses, but in spite of that the only anomaly is 98 which was caused mostly by West teams. From 91-95 there were 0 sub-20 teams in the East and only 1 in the East each year from 96-98. There was only 1 sub-20 team in the West in 94-95 when Hakeem won his 2 titles.

It's also important to note that the 80/90s had the best PG, SG, SF, and C of all-time in Magic, Jordan, Bird, and Hakeem, as well as 3 of the top 4 defenders of all-time in Rodman, Hakeem, and David Robinson (Bill Russell being the 4th). In fact, the best defensive player at each of the 5 positions all came in the 90s - Payton, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and Hakeem (arguably with Russell for the C position). No other era had as much depth or stacked level of competition on the team and individual levels.

1984/85 
Milwaukee Bucks
- Jordan lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, with the number 1 defense in the league.
- One year before this, Larry Bird's Celtics had to defeat Moncrief/Pressey's Bucks in the ECF for his second championship.
- Just two years before this, Bird/Parish/McHale's Celtics lost to the same Bucks team. Larry Bird was held to 18.7 ppg on 44% in the playoffs against the 1983 Bucks after 23.6 ppg on 50% in the 82/83 regular season
- They had Sidney Moncrief, who had just won Defensive Player of the Year each of the last two years, and one of the greatest defensive guards of all time in Paul Pressey.
- Keep in mind that no guard has ever won DPOY in the 2000s, and in his first year in the playoffs, Jordan already had to deal with a 2x DPOY guard in Moncrief.
- This Bucks team was swept by the 85 Sixers, but they still held Moses Malone and a past prime Julius Irving to lower than usual production on offense.
- One year after this series, Bird's Celtics had to beat this same Bucks team again in the ECF on the way to Bird's last championship.

1985/86
Boston Celtics (NBA Champs)- Jordan lost to the eventual 1986 champion Celtics with the greatest home record of all time (40-1), and with a top 3 defense in the league.
- He was dealing with one of the greatest defensive guards of all time, former Finals MVP Dennis Johnson, and had to drive through a front court of Bird, Parish, and McHale
- In the very next round, This Celtics team held the high-flying scoring champion Dominique Wilkins to 24 ppg on less than 40% after averaging 30 ppg on 47% in the season
- With a team that went 21-43 in his absence due to a broken foot, Jordan still averaged 44-6-6 on 51% against the greatest Celtics team of all time

1986/87
Boston Celtics (Lost in NBA Finals) - Jordan faced the defending champion Celtics again (number 4 defense), who would go on to the NBA Finals before losing to the dynasty Lakers
- Larry Bird was one assist per game from averaging a triple double in this series
- With his best scoring option Oakley shooting 38%, Jordan still put up 36-7-6 with 2 spg and 2 bpg, but on a lower 42%.

In only his 2nd and 3rd season,
Jordan was torching the greatest Celtics
dynasty of all time

1987/88
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Jordan put up 45-5-5 on 56% against the Cavs with the number 2 defense in the league. Sure seems like Pippen carried him
- This Cavs team had 5 players that averaged double figures and a good all-around cast of Ron Harper, Larry Nance, Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, and Hot Rod Williams

Detroit Pistons (Lost in NBA Finals) - Next they played the 88 Pistons (number 3 defense) who went on to lose in the Finals against the defending champ Lakers
- Pippen only averaged 9-5-2 on 46% in the next round against the Pistons, and Lebron fans like to complain about his teammates not stepping up. 
- Jordan shut down Isiah Thomas and played good defense on Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley 
- Bird had averaged 26-8-6 on 51% against the Hawks in the 88 playoffs, but then got destroyed by the 88 Pistons with 20-12-6 on 35%
- Jordan also decreased his first round production, but he still ended up with 27-9-5 on 49% against them despite having less help than Bird.
- Jordan got guarded by the likes of Rodman, the only player in history that can lock down 1-5, and Joe Dumars. And no, Lebron can not guard 1-5.

Not even Magic Johnson could win one game
against the 1989 Pistons. Jordan's Bulls
were the only team in 1989 that gave the Pistons a fight.

1988/89
Cleveland Cavaliers - Jordan had a 6 seed Bulls team in 1989, and Pippen only averaged 13 ppg + 4 apg in the playoffs, far below his production when he was fully developed during the Bulls championship seasons
- Despite that, he beat the Cavs and Ewing's Knicks without home court advantage.
- The Cavs team had the number 3 defense in the league and six players that averaged double figures in this playoff series.

New York Knicks
- The very next year, Patrick Ewing dropped 31.6 ppg and 11.4 apg on 57% against the Celtics front court of Parish and McHale in the playoffs. Larry Bird almost averaged a triple double in that series, but he still lost to Ewing's Knicks in the first round
- In this series, Jordan became the only guard to lead his team in 5/5 categories during a playoff series (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Detroit Pistons (NBA Champs)
- Jordan would fall to the Pistons (number 2 defense), 4-2 in the 1989 ECF. No other team, not even the Lakers who went 11-0 in the West, even beat the 1989 Pistons once. And Jordan did all that with a very undeveloped Scottie Pippen
- Jordan shut down Isiah Thomas (21 ppg on 39%) in this series again while Pippen only played one minute of Game 6 where the Pistons would win the series 4-2
- Jordan was again getting guarded by the likes of Rodman and one of the greatest defensive guards of all time in Joe Dumars, who went on to win Finals MVP this year
- Jordan put up 30 - 5.5 - 6.5 on 46% even with a 6 seed team that only had three players in double figures (12, 10 and 10 ppg)
- For reference Lebron put up 22-7-7 on 36% in the 2007 Finals with a 2 seed team that only  had three players in double figures (13, 11, 10 ppg)

The same Pistons that gave Magic and
Bird hell are somehow weak competition?

1989/90
Milwaukee Bucks
- Jordan went against the Bucks with former DPOY shooting guard Alvin Robertson. Remember that no guard has won DPOY in the 2000s. They also had another elite defender in Paul Pressey. Jordan still lit them up with 37-8-7 on 54%


Philadelphia 76ers
Then Jordan beat Charles Barkley's 76ers in 4 with Jordan lighting them up as well


Detroit Pistons (NBA Champs)
Jordan's teammates finally stepped up for the first 6 games of the 1990 ECF against the eventual 1990 champion Pistons (number 1 defense), and the series was tied 3-3
- In Game 7, Jordan put up 31-9-8 on 48%, and also held Isiah Thomas to 41% shooting. Jordan also went up against DPOY Rodman, who can actually guard 1-5 unlike Lebron, in this series as well as Dumars
- The rest of Jordan's teammates played garbage in Game 7. The only teammate of Jordan's in double figures was Horace Grant with 10 pts on 3-17 (18%) shooting. Pippen finished with 2 pts 4 rebs 2 ast on 1-10 shooting
- Dennis Rodman actually outscored every teammate of Jordan's, and did it more efficiently with 13 pts on 6-7 shooting 
- While Jordan shot 48%, no other notable teammate (benchwarmers in garbage time don't count) shot better than 33.3%.

People mention what the Pistons did to the Bulls,
but they never mention how badly Jordan shut
down Isiah Thomas in all 4 playoff series

1990/91
Philadelphia 76ers
- Jordan beat Charles Barkley's 76ers in the second round again this year


Detroit Pistons (Back to back NBA Champs with the number 1 defense in the league)
- The 91 Pistons had the number 1 defense in the league, and Dennis Rodman was DPOY for the second year in a row.
- Isiah's injury is not an excuse, because Isiah already played almost 50 games in the season and had played through injuries before, such as the 1989 Finals. Isiah also averaged almost 12 apg in the first round of the playoffs this year against Dominique Wilkins' Hawks
- and if you are going to use Isiah's injury as an excuse, Jordan must be given extra credit for winning with an injured Toni Kukoc (1996 ECSF), Ron Harper (1996 Finals) and Scottie Pippen (1997/98 season and 1998 Finals)- This Pistons team was still good enough to sweep the Celtics with Reggie Lewis and McHale playing very well
- People claim this team was weakened by the flagrant foul rule, but they ended up with the number 1 defense in the league for the second year in a row and with Rodman winning DPOY again, even after the introduction of that rule. Clearly the myth that the introduction of this rule hurt the Pistons is far from true. The Pistons actually allowed less PPG in 1990/91 than they did in 1989/90.
- For those who still doubt the 1991 Pistons defense, they shut down Dominique Wilkins to 21 ppg on 37% after 26 ppg on 47% in the regular season in the first round of the playoffs

Los Angeles Lakers
- The Lakers were still a great team, and they were not washed up like people think, though not as great as the 80s Lakers.

Kareem was almost a complete non-factor in the
1988 and 1989 Finals. The fact that the 1991
Lakers didn't have Kareem does nothing to diminish
the Bulls championship. Vlade Divac actually
performed much better in the 1991 Finals than
Kareem in his last 2 NBA Finals.

- Former Finals MVP James Worthy was playing with an ankle injury, but he still put up 19-3-2 on 48%, which was not far off from his playoff and season averages. Considering he was doing that against a top defense like the Bulls, it shows no indication that he wasn't playing well. By the time Worthy missed Game 5, the series was already over with the Bulls up 3-1

- James Worthy broke his leg and missed all of the 1983 playoffs, but nobody tries to discredit Moses Malone's 1983 victory over the Lakers in the Finals.

- The Lakers didnt have Kareem, but Kareem was a minor contributor on the 1988 and 1989 Lakers team. They were still a great team even with Kareem having a minimal impact.
- Vlade Divac in the 1991 Finals played much, much better than a faded Kareem did in in the 1988 and 1989 Finals. He was more than enough to offset the loss of a fading 88-89 Kareem (not a prime Kareem obviously)

- Kareem 1988 Finals - 13-4-1 on 41%, 0.6 spg, 1 bpg

- Kareem 1989 Finals - 12.5-5-2 on 44%, 0.5 spg, 1 bpg
- Kareem 1982 Finals - 18-8-4 on 53%, 1.3 spg, 3.2 bpg

- Divac 1991 Finals - 18-9-2 on 57%, 1.8 spg, 2.4 bpg

- Divac in 1991 actually played at practically the same level that Kareem did for the 1982 Finals

- This is the same Vlade Divac who was a key piece of the Kings that nearly ended the 2000-02 Lakers 3peat chances. Somehow only in Jordan's era is he considered part of a weak team
- Magic Johnson averaged 12.5 apg in the NBA Finals and regular season. Since then, no player outside of John Stockton has matched those numbers in the regular season, and Stockton never reached that assist output after the 1993/94 season.
- and no player besides Magic Johnson has ever reached 12 apg in the NBA Finals
- No player since 1991 has even reached 10 apg in the Finals, and no player in the 2000s has reached 12 apg in a season.
- Magic had averaged a triple double in the 1991 WCSF against the Warriors, dropping 26-10-13.
- If Magic Johnson was washed up at this point, then that only shows how vastly superior Jordan's era was compared to the 2000s, since a "washed up" Magic Johnson was a far better distributor and all-around player than any PG of the 2000s.
- Magic is the only person to average 20-10 (ppg-apg) in a Finals or Title run, doing it in 1987 and 1991 with at least 21-12 each time.

- When the Pistons beat the Lakers in 1989, Magic Johnson played a combined 5 minutes in the last 2 games of the Finals due to injury. Yet people try to discredit the Bulls' 1991 championship?

In the 1990/91 season, Magic Johnson averaged more
apg in the Finals than any player since then. No player has matched
his 1990/91 regular season apg output since 1993/94. Magic
averaged 26-10-13 against the Warriors in the 1991 Playoffs.
And yet people somehow claim he was washed up

1991/92
New York Knicks
- Jordan played the Knicks in the second round with the number 2 defense in the league, who beat the Bad Boy Pistons in the first round
- They had an all-time great Center in Ewing, whereas the toughest center for Lebron to deal with during his championship seasons was 0-0 Roy Hibbert
- They also had a stacked defensive lineup at every position with Ewing, Oakley, Mason, Wilkins, Starks, Greg Anthony, and McDaniel. They were as deep defensively as the 2014 Spurs were offensively.

A completely washed up version of these 90s
Knicks dominated the early 2000s defensively

- They then beat a Cavs team with 5 players averaging double figures

Portland Trail Blazers
- Then the Bulls faced the Blazers with Clyde Drexler, who made the Finals 2 years earlier against the great 80s team of the Pistons
- Drexler averaged 26-8-6 on 54% in the 1990 Finals and lost.
- People act like Lebron is special for losing in the 2014 Finals with almost the same numbers of 28-8-4 on 57%.
- People confuse the Blazers lack of big names outside of Drexler for being a weak team. The truth is they had 6 players scoring in double figures for the playoffs
- Terry Porter averaged 21-5-7 on 52% for the 1992 Playoffs to complement Drexler. He also outplayed Kevin Johnson and John Stockton in back to back rounds in the 1992 WCSF and 1992 WCF.

- Terry Porter in 1992 became the only player to average at least 15 ppg, 50% FG, 45% 3PT In an NBA Finals run (min. 1.5 3PA/game) 

- In the 1992 Playoffs he had 21.4 ppg - 4.6 rpg - 6.7 apg on 52% FG - 47% 3PT - 83% FT

- They had the same Cliff Robinson that was a key starter of the 2002 and 2003 Pistons with the number 6 and number 1 defense in the league, as well as another elite defender like Buck Williams. Only difference is this Cliff Robinson wasn't washed up at 35 and 36 years old like he was with the 2000s Pistons.

The 92 Blazers and Knicks were just like the 2014 Spurs
when it came to having a lot of depth.

- They also had a great supporting cast of Porter, Kersey, Duckworth, and Ainge (same Ainge who was a key contributor of the Celtics in the 1986 Finals). This team was insanely deep.
- The Bulls beat the same team that the Bad Boy Pistons needed to beat in order to win a championship, and somehow it is only the Bad Boys that played in a tough era?

- I have heard some people say that Jordan would have never beat the Jazz when they had Malone, Stockton, and Eaton on the same team. Malone, Stockton, and Eaton could not even beat this 1992 Blazers team, and they also lost to the Blazers in 1991 with Thurl Bailey as well.
- The Stockton, Malone, and Eaton/Bailey Jazz in 1990 also lost in the first round to Kevin Johnson's 5 seed Suns team, and the Suns did not even have Charles Barkley on that team like they did in 1993.

Jordan did a better job on Drexler defensively than any of
the Bad Boy Pistons defenders did. Yet somehow his
championships aren't worth as much as the 80s teams?

1992/93
Atlanta Hawks
- In the first round, Jordan's Bulls swept Dominique Wilkins' Hawks.
- Along with Curry and Davis in the 2015 1st round, this is the only time that two players averaged 30 ppg in the same playoff series.

New York Knicks - Jordan played the Knicks with the number 1 defense in the league in 1993, and were down 2-0 for the first time since Jordan played the Pistons in 1990
- They still had a stacked defensive lineup of Ewing, Starks, Oakley, Mason, and Rivers. The very next year the Knicks would make the Finals before losing in 7 to a prime Hakeem's Rockets. 

- Despite the fact that Hakeem shut down Ewing to 19 ppg 36% shooting in the 1994 Finals, and Ewing had almost twice as many turnovers as assists, it still took the Rockets 7 games to take out the Knicks.
- The Rockets also needed a series-saving block by Hakeem in Game 6, and all 7 games were decided by single digits. This was the only time that happened in a 7 game series in the Finals. A true testament to the depth of that Knicks team beyond Ewing, even if the names were not that big.
- A common criticism of the 92 and 93 Knicks is that despite their great defense, they were among the worst offensive teams in the league.
- Well, the 89 and 90 Pistons as well as the 04 Pistons were among the lowest scoring teams in the league, but nobody considers those teams to be weak competition, do they?

- These Knicks actually did a better job on Jordan defensively than the Pistons did in any of their four playoff meetings with the Bulls. Jordan had 30 ppg, but on 40% shooting against the Knicks. Scoring wise, the best defensive jobs the Pistons did on Jordan out of all 4 playoff series were 27.4 ppg on 49% and 29.7 ppg on 46%.

Jordan had a harder time scoring against the
93 Knicks than in any of his four playoff
series against the Pistons. Yet somehow his
competition wasn't up to par with the 80s?

Phoenix Suns
- Then they played the 93 Suns with MVP Charles Barkley.
- They also had Kevin Johnson. In 1990 against Magic's Lakers, who had gone 11-0 before losing in the Finals the year before, Kevin Johnson upset Magic as he led his 5 seed Suns past the number 1 seed Lakers in the second round. And that was without Charles Barkley.
- Kevin Johnson's 6 best seasons outperform Chris Paul's 6 best seasons from a scoring and assisting perspective, and Johnson did it without the inflation benefit. 

- Kevin Johnson was only a 3x all-star, but Chris Paul was as high as 2nd in MVP Voting - proof that the standards of high quality are far lower in the 2000s.
- He also outperformed Derrick Rose's MVP seasons

- Kevin Johnson's 6 best seasons 

20.4 ppg 12.2 apg on 51%

22.5 ppg 11.4 apg on 50%

22.2 ppg 10.1 apg on 52%

19.7 ppg 10.7 apg on 48%

20.0 ppg 9.5 apg on 49%

20.1 ppg 9.3 apg on 50%

- Derrick Rose MVP season

24.1 ppg + 7.4 apg on 45% - He had more points, but KJ killed him in assists, and 1 assist is worth at least 2 points. He also shot much less efficiently than KJ's best seasons.

- Chris Paul's 6 best seasons

22.8 ppg 11.0 apg on 50%

21.1 ppg 11.0 apg on 49%

19.1 ppg 10.7 apg on 47%

19.1 ppg 10.2 apg on 49%

18.7 ppg 10.7 apg on 49%

19.8 ppg 9.1 apg on 48%

Kevin Johnson, along with Magic Johnson, is the only player to average 20+ ppg and 10+ apg and 50% FG in 2 seasons. He fell barely short of a record 3rd season in 1989/90 when he shot 49.9%. Along with Oscar and Isiah, he is the only player to average 20+ ppg and 10+ apg for 3 straight years, and fell barely short of tying them with a record 4th straight year when he averaged 19.7 ppg. It says a lot that Jordan beat Magic, Isiah, and KJ, shutting down both Isiah and KJ while also taking care of Magic in the OT of Game 3 in the 1991 Finals.

Only players to average 20-10 (ppg-apg) in multiple playoffs past the 1st round - Magic Johnson x4 (1986, 1987, 1990, 1991) - Kevin Johnson x3 (1989, 1990, 1992) - Steve Nash x2 (2005, 2006) - Deron Williams x2 (2008, 2010) Only players to average 20-10 (ppg-apg) in multiple playoffs past the 2nd round - Magic Johnson x3 (1986, 1987, 1991) - Kevin Johnson x2 (1989, 1990) - Steve Nash x2 (2005, 2006) Only player to average 20+ ppg, 9+ apg in 5 playoff runs - Kevin Johnson, all of which were past the 1st round - 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995 - this is an NBA record for 20-9 playoff runs, even if you include 1st round exits Only player to average 23-11 (ppg-apg) in multiple playoffs past the 1st round - Kevin Johnson x2 (1989, 1992) - also an NBA record KJ would have done this a 3rd time in 1990, but was injured in his first and last game of the playoffs which brought his averages under the 23-11 cutoff while only playing 9 and 14 minutes in those games.

The Suns went 62-20 even with Kevin Johnson missing 32 games. A testament to their huge depth and Barkley's greatness.

On top of competing against MVP Charles Barkley, the
Bulls  had to deal with Kevin Johnson, who was better
than Chris Paul - supposedly one of the best PGs ever.

1994/95

Orlando Magic- The Magic had Shaq, Horace Grant, a healthy Penny, and a very good supporting cast of Scott, Nick Anderson, and Shaw. Along with Shaq, Brian Shaw was a key piece of the Lakers 3peat.

- The 1995 Magic had 6 players in double figures during the Finals (more than the 2014 Spurs), and averaged more ppg and apg in the Finals than the 2014 Spurs. Despite all that, they still couldn't even win one game against Hakeem's Rockets.

1995/96
Miami Heat - The Miami Heat acquired Tim Hardaway mid-season and went 17-11 (0.607 win%) following the trade. This would have put them on pace for 49-50 wins in the season.

New York Knicks- In the second round they played the Knicks with a slightly past prime Ewing, as well as Starks, Mason, Oakley, and Derek Harper
- As we saw in this section, even a washed up version of these Knicks in 2000 and 2001 shut down Vince Carter in the playoffs even after Vince had the 2 best offensive seasons of his entire career. And that was without the 90s defensive rules.

Orlando Magic (Defending Eastern Conference Champs)
- Then they rematched the Magic who made the NBA Finals the year before. Even with Shaq missing 28 games, the Magic still ended up 60-22 in the season. The Magic had a 0.714 win percentage without Shaq, so the absence of a far less impactful player like Horace Grant in this series is no excuse, and the Bulls blew out the Magic with Grant by almost 40 in Game 1

- After this Magic team had 6 players averaging double figures in the 1995 Finals with more ppg and apg than the Spurs in the 2014 Finals, they got shut down by the Bulls to only 2 players averaging double figures (Shaq and Penny), and only 85 ppg and 16 apg in the 1996 ECF compared to 107 ppg and 27.5 apg in the 1995 Finals
- Out of all players that averaged over 20 mpg, Shaq was the only one who broke the 50% shooting barrier.

The same Shaq that won 3 championships and
3 Finals MVPs in the 2000s got swept by Jordan's Bulls
one year after making the NBA Finals. Shaq in the real 90s era
of basketball had 0 MVPs, 0 rings, 0 defensive teams, and got swept 5 times.

Seattle SuperSonics

- Then they played the 1996 Sonics. Shawn Kemp was in his prime, and far from the shell he would become after gaining weight in the lockout season.
- Shawn Kemp is not a Hall of Famer, but if he maintained the level of play that he had in the 1996 Playoffs for his career he would easily have been a Hall of Famer. Take a look.
- In the 1996 WCSF, Shawn Kemp actually outplayed Hakeem as the Sonics swept the 2x defending champion Rockets
- In the 1996 WCF, Kemp averaged 20-10 on 69% FG against Stockton + Malone's Jazz. Even Shaquille O'Neal can't say he shot that well in a playoff series. The highest that Shaq ever shot in a playoff series was 66% FG in the 1995 ECF.
- Then, Shawn Kemp averaged 23-10-2-1-2 on 55% in the 1996 Finals. Compare that with 2011 Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki's inflated 26-10-2 on 42%. Kemp outperformed the same player that destroyed Lebron's Heat in the 2011 Finals, and even that wasn't enough to beat Jordan. And he was doing that with Dennis Rodman matching up against him. 
- Against arguably the best team of all-time, Shawn Kemp put up better numbers than Dirk Nowitzki did in either his 2006 or 2011 Finals performances.
- Gary Payton, the best defensive PG in history, and the only point guard to ever win DPOY, averaged 22-5-7-2 on 50% through 3 rounds before Jordan locked him down in the Finals when Ron Harper was injured. 
- And even at 35 years old past his prime without the benefit of 90s defensive rules, Payton locked down one of the greatest rookies of all time in Lebron James, as well as Tony Parker in the 2004 WCSF. He also made Kobe miss a game winner


- In four playoff series meetings against Detroit, Jordan never had less than 27.4 ppg in a series against the Pistons, nor did he ever have less than 46% shooting. But against Payton in the Finals he had 27.3 ppg on 41.5% shooting. No individual player has ever played better defense on Jordan, and definitely not anyone from the 80s
- Take a look at how stacked this Sonics defense was.

• They shut down Hakeem to 18.3 ppg on 48% in the 1996 WCSF after he had 26.9 ppg on 51% in the regular season
• Gary Payton shut down John Stockton in the 1996 WCF to 9.9 ppg + 7.6 apg on just under 40% shooting, after he had 14.7 ppg + 11.2 apg on 54% in the regular season.
• Karl Malone increased his scoring from 25.7 ppg in the season to 27.0 ppg against the Sonics, but at the cost of lowering his FG% from 52% to 47.5%
• Scottie Pippen got shut down to 15.7 ppg on 34% against the Sonics defense in the Finals after 19.4 ppg on 46% in the regular season.
• Michael Jordan got held to 27.3 ppg on 41.5% against Payton and the Sonics in the Finals. This is a lower PPG and FG% than Jordan had against any 80s team.
• All of these players were in or near their prime. Try and find me one team from the 2000s that shut down that many Hall of Fame players, and that level of Hall of Fame players, in or near their prime, during one single postseason run. 
• The only notable Hall of Famers that the 2004 Pistons shut down were Reggie Miller in the last games of his career, Jason Kidd, and Kobe. Kobe is the only one that compared to the Hall of Famers the Sonics shut down, and Jason Kidd doesn't even begin to compared with the aforementioned greats.

Shawn Kemp had a better individual performance in the 1996
Finals than Dirk Nowitzki in 2006 or 2011.

1996/97
Washington Bullets
- For a first round team, the Bullets were very talented with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, and Rod Strickland (averaged around 18 ppg 10 apg in his prime years)
- and they had 5 players averaging 15+ ppg against the Bulls in the first round
- The Bullets started the season 22-25, then went 22-13 after putting Bernie Bickerstaff at head coach. This would be on pace for 51 or 52 wins in a full season.

Atlanta Hawks
This team also had great talent in DPOY Mutombo - a top 10 defender of all-time, 20 ppg Steve Smith, and a great 2-way guard in Mookie Blaylock, who is probably the best 6-foot or shorter defender of all-time

Miami Heat
- In the ECF, the Bulls dealt with the Heat led by Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning. Even after Jordan retired, this Heat team would remain a top 5 defense all the way to 2003. 
- This Heat defense, even past their prime, also killed several superstars from the 2000s.
- This is the only team in Jordan's entire career that held him under 40% shooting (38.7%) for a series, though he still averaged 30-8-4-2-1 on 43% in the 4 wins.
- Even as an inexperienced player in the 80s, the number 1 defense Bucks with Moncrief/Pressey couldn't do that to a rookie Jordan, and the 80s dynasty Celtics in back to back playoffs couldn't do that even when Jordan missed almost all of his second season.
- Lebron's career isn't even over and he already has two playoff series shooting under 40% - 35.5% against the 08 Celtics and 35.6% against the 07 Spurs

The lowest FG% that Jordan had in an
80s series was 41.7%, in only his
3rd season. The 1997 Heat
held him to 38.7% shooting, and
the 1996 Sonics held him to 41.5%
shooting.

- This Heat team also held the entire Bulls team under 40% shooting (39.8%)
- Pippen also had problems with this defense - only putting up 16.8 ppg on 42% and only 2.8 apg to 3 turnovers a game.
- The Heat won 61 games even with their best player Alonzo missing 16 games.

Utah Jazz
- Then they played MVP Karl Malone in the Finals along with a past prime but still great Stockton.
- When a prime Tim Duncan was got guarded by Karl Malone, he got shut down to 38% shooting in the last 4 games of the 2004 WCSF (Spurs lost all 4 of those games) after a good start in Games 1-2.
- For those whining that Malone and Stockton were old, the Bulls already beat a 92 Blazers team that defeated a younger Stockton and Malone in the WCF
- I have heard some people say that Jordan would have never beat the Jazz when they had Malone, Stockton, and Eaton on the same team. Malone, Stockton, and Eaton could not even beat the 1992 Blazers.
- This Jazz team beat Shaq's Lakers 4-1, and Shaq was held to 22 ppg on 49% after doing 26.2 ppg on 56% in the season. So much for him being too big and strong for the 90s defenses to handle
- Shaq has a combined 1-8 playoff record against Karl Malone's Jazz, even after he made the NBA Finals in 1995.
- This Jazz team, even past their prime, also locked down several superstars from the 2000s.

1997/98
Charlotte Hornets
- An underrated and overlooked team. They had one of the most underrated and versatile defenders of all time in Anthony Mason
- Also a solid center in Vlade Divac, the same Divac that was a key piece of the 2002 Kings that nearly ended the Lakers 3peat
- and Glen Rice who averaged 22 ppg this year
- They also had good role players in BJ Armstrong, David Wesley, and Bobby Phills 

Indiana Pacers
- The Bulls played the Pacers with the number 5 defense in the league. This Pacers team, even past their prime, locked down several superstars from the 2000s.
- When this Pacers team was washed up and an average defense team, they contained Allen Iverson to 38% shooting in both the 1999 and 2000 playoffs, lower than even his usual low-FG%
- They also held Kobe to 37% shooting in the 2000 Finals (not including Game 2 where Kobe left due to an ankle injury). And in 2000, that was after the massive anti-handcheck rules were in place. Jordan didn't have that luxury
- This Pacers team was modeled a lot like the 2014 Spurs. They had sharp shooters in Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin, and a very good front court of Rik Smits, Antonio Davis, and Dale Davis. 
- They also had an old but still solid point guard in Mark Jackson backed up by Jalen Rose. They had threats at every single position.
- The Spurs front court was more offensive whereas the Pacers front court was better defensively.
- Pippen got locked down by these Pacers too - 16.6 ppg on 39%.
- A much weaker version of this Pacers team made the Finals in 2000.

• The 2000 Pacers lost one of their best post defenders, Antonio Davis
• Reggie Miller was 34 years old by that point, and had his lowest ppg in 10 seasons
• Rik Smits was in the last season of his career
• Chris Mullin hardly played any minutes for the Pacers in this season, and McKey hardly played in the Finals. 
• Derrick McKey, Mark Jackson and Sam Perkins were also nearing the very end of their career.
• The 1994, 1995, and 1998 Pacers all had a top 10 defense in the league, and the 2000 Pacers did not, yet the 2000 Pacers still made the Finals, shut down Kobe to 37% shooting in 4 full games of play, and pushed prime Shaq to 6 games
• When Shaq played the watered down Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals, he dropped 38-17-2-1-3 on 61%
• When he played the legit 98 Pacers he still played very well, but with a much more humane 27-11-2.5 with 4.5 blocks on 56%

Old Reggie Miller actually outplayed Iverson in the 1999 and 2000 ECSF, and you can make the case he outplayed MVP Iverson in the 2001 Playoffs because of his much better efficiency from FG%, 3PT%, and FT%. Iverson also had the superior defensive team backing him up each time, yet Reggie still outplayed him twice and arguably all 3 times. Only once in the 90s did Reggie receive any MVP votes in 1998, when he had 2 MVP points out of a possible 1160, and wasn't even in the top 15. Yet you can make the case he outplayed Iverson in all 3 playoff meetings including his MVP season

Utah Jazz

- Then they faced the Jazz for the second Finals in a row. 
-  In the 1999 playoffs, this Jazz team shut down Chris Webber. The same Webber that nearly led the Kings past the 2002 Lakers with an injured Peja Stojakovic. After having 20 ppg on 49% in the season, Webber was held to 15 ppg on 39% against the Jazz. Webber also struggled against the 2002 Jazz.
- The Jazz in 1998 beat the Spurs with a rookie Tim Duncan 4-1. Duncan averaged the same amount of points that he did in the regular season, but his FG% dropped from 55% to 49%.
- Sure, Duncan was a rookie, but he also won Finals MVP the very next year in 1999 as a sophomore. 
- The Jazz then swept Shaq's Lakers in the 1998 WCF.
- The Jazz went 62-20 in 1998 even with Stockton missing 18 games.

Shaq had a 1-8 record in the playoffs against the Jazz, and struggled badly in 1997.

As more proof of how Jordan's competition was superior, let's take a look at what happened when a 40 year old Karl Malone and 35 year old Gary Payton played against the 2004 Spurs, right in between their 2003 and 2005 championship seasons.

In the 2003 WCSF, the Lakers lost to the Spurs who went on to win the championship. Enter a 40 year old Karl Malone and 35 year old Gary Payton

• In the 2004 1st round, Tony Parker averaged 21 ppg and 8.5 apg on 53%, which was better than Parker's numbers in any Western playoff series during the 2007 Playoffs

• In the 2004 WCSF vs a 35 year old Gary Payton, He was shut down to 16.7 ppg on 38%, including Game 5 in which Parker never scored once on Payton.

• In the 2004 WCSF, prime Tim Duncan averaged 27 ppg on 65% in the 2 wins

• Then in the 4 losses, Duncan had 17.5 ppg on 38% with 4+ turnovers per game, and very rarely scored on 40 year old Malone. Almost all his points in the 4 losses came on Shaq.

The Spurs are the best dynasty of the post-Jordan era, and they got shut down by his washed up leftovers. That says it all about the disparity in quality of competition

It's also worth noting that Karl Malone at age 40 outplayed Kobe and Shaq in the 1st round of the 2004 Playoffs, when Kobe and Shaq were both top 5 players in the league. That further shows how vastly superior the Jordan era of competition was, when a 40-year old shell from the Jordan era can outplay two top 5 players in the league at the same time in one playoff series.

2004 Lakers vs Rockets, 1st Round
Karl Malone (38.8 mpg) - 18.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.8 spg on 49% FG and 59% FT
Shaq O'Neal (41.8 mpg) - 16.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.8 bpg on 52% FG and 30% FT
Kobe Bryant (44.4 mpg) - 24.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.2 apg, 1.8 spg on 39% FG and 91% FT

Malone also had a very poor performance in Game 1 of 7 points on 3/14 FG that brought his numbers down. He averaged 21-10-3 on 56% FG and 60% FT for the last 4 games

A good thing to note is that Jordan's Bulls beat 7 60-win teams in their 6 title seasons, the most by any NBA dynasty in a single decade.

- 1993 Knicks
- 1993 Suns
- 1996 Magic
- 1996 Sonics
- 1997 Heat
- 1997 Jazz
- 1998 Jazz

Jordan beat 7 60-win teams in his playoff career
LeBron beat 9 50-win teams in his playoff career as of 2015.
- the 2012 lockout Pacers and Thunder were on pace for 52 and 58-wins

Some more things to note
- KJ missed 33 games in 1992/93 and PHX still won 62 games
- Shaq missed 28 games in 1995/96 and ORL still won 60 games
- Alonzo missed 16 games in 1996/97 and MIA still won 61 games
- Stockton missed 18 games in 1997/98 and UTA still won 62 games

All of these teams could have easily reached 65+ wins with their star players fully healthy. 

Here are some more facts of Jordan's playoff competition

27 of Jordan's 37 playoff opponents (73%) have 50+ wins

10 of Jordan's 37 playoff opponents (27%) have 50+ wins

Adjusting 2012 lockouts for 82 games

19 of LeBron's 37 playoff opponents (51%) have 50+ wins

18 of LeBron's 37 playoff opponents (49%) have under 50 wins

Jordan, Kobe (starter years), Duncan, and LeBron are a combined 48-1 against sub-50 teams, the one loss coming from Duncan at age 34 against the 2011 Grizzlies, so it is an accurate cutoff and shows how much easier LeBron's competition is. Had Jordan had the luxury of beating up on scrub sub-50 teams for half of his playoff career, it's clear he would have had far more team and individual success than he did in the vastly superior 90s.

LeBron only beat one 50-win team during his time in Cleveland before joining Wade in Miami, the 2007 Pistons with no 4x DPOY Ben Wallace and no Hall of Fame coach Larry Brow. So LeBron's ability to "carry" the Cavaliers is a perception created by the weak competition he feasted on in the playoffs. Clearly LeBron would have never stood a chance in Jordan's era on the 2003-2010 Cavs, seeing as 73% of Jordan's playoff opponents had 50+ wins. Likewise, given how easy the opposition of LeBron was, it's clear that Jordan, and many other players, would have easily surpassed LeBron's accomplishments in the same position. Jordan, Hakeem, Duncan, Kobe, and more legends have never had the luxury of facing a sub-50 team in the ECF or WCF like LeBron in both of his title seasons (2012 Celtics would be 48-34 adjusted for 82 games)

LeBron has never beaten 3 50+ win teams in any playoff run (even if you adjust 2012 lockout teams for 82 games), but Jordan beat 3 50+ win teams in each of the 1992, 1993, 1997, and 1998 title runs, as well as 2 60-win teams in each of the 1993, 1996, and 1997 title runs. Hakeem also beat 3 50+ win teams in the 1994 title run and 4 57+ win teams in the 1995 title run. Had KJ and Barkley not missed a combined 59 games on the 59-23 Suns, the 1995 Rockets would have been the only team to beat 3 60+ win teams in a playoff run. LeBron's competition does not begin to compare. The 1997 Bulls and 1995 Rockets are the only teams to beat 3 56+ win teams in one title run (1995 Rockets beat 4 57+ win teams)

These are some common idiotic statement said by people that try to diminish Jordan's championships - "He only won after the Lakers, Celtics, and Pistons were done." "He never won a ring without Pippen." 

First of all, we already saw in the 1990/91 section that the Pistons were far from washed up. On top of that, Jordan was already individually torching the Celtics in the middle of their dynasty with a very weak supporting cast around him. 

Secondly, you can make these weak excuses about every single player or team in NBA history. 

1971 - Kareem beat a Lakers team with no Jerry West to make the Finals. They also beat the Bullets in the Finals with Gus Johnson missing half the series.

1972 - Wilt won his 2nd ring against a Knicks team with no Willis Reed, their best player, who was out due to injury. When Reed played in 1970 and 1973, Wilt's Lakers lost

1973 - John Havlicek injured his shoulder and missed Game 4 against the Knicks, which the Celtics lost. Havlicek averaged 25 ppg in the series before his injury, and only 10 ppg after his injury, including 4 points in Game 7. This gave the Knicks a much easier path to the Finals. 

1975, 1976 - Kareem missed the playoffs twice in his prime without Oscar or Magic

1980, 1982 - Magic and Kareem beat the Sixers before Moses was on the team. When Moses came in 1983, they got swept

1981 - Bird's Celtics beat a 40-42 Rockets team in the Finals, with Calvin Murphy missing 2 games in the series.

1983 - The Sixers beat a Lakers team with no James Worthy, who broke his leg and missed the entire playoffs.

1985 - The Lakers beat a Celtics team with an injured Cedric Maxwell.

1986 - The Celtics beat a Rockets team without their starting guard John Lucas who was suspended for cocaine

1987 - The Lakers beat the Celtics with McHale who re-injured his broken foot in the first round against the Bulls, which caused him to miss games in the 2nd round. Bill Walton also played negligible minutes in the Finals, who was the 6th man of the year in 1986.

1988 - Isiah's ankle injury in Game 6 contributed to his poor performance in Game 7, and Kareem needed a questionable foul to make it to Game 7 in the first place.

1989 - Magic missed the last 2 games of the Finals due to a hamstring injury.

1999 - The Spurs played the Knicks with no Patrick Ewing who was out due to injury

2000 - Duncan was injured, giving the Lakers a much easier path to the Finals and beat a Pacers team without Antonio Davis, a key interior defender, who went to the Raptors. 

2001 - The Lakers beat the Spurs with Derek Anderson, their 2nd-leading regular season scorer, missing most of the series due to injury,

2002 - David Robinson played with a back injury in the 2002 WCSF against the Lakers and missed 2 games. Peja Stojakovic, the Kings 2nd-leading scorer at 21 ppg on 48%, also missed most of the 2002 WCF due to a sprained ankle, but the Kings still went 7 games with the Lakers.

2003 - The Spurs played the Mavs in the WCF, but Dirk was injured in Game 3 and missed the rest of the series.

2004 - The Pistons beat the Lakers with an injured Malone, who made a difference at age 40. He was the Lakers' best player in the first round and his defense on Duncan was huge in the 2004 WCSF. The Lakers were 33-9 when Malone played in the season

2005 - Dwyane Wade was injured in the ECF, causing the Heat to lose a 3-2 lead and the series against the Pistons. This may have given the Spurs an easier opponent in the Finals. The Spurs also benefited from Rashard Lewis' and Joe Johnson's injuries in back to back rounds. 

2007 - The Spurs benefited from a controversial suspension of Amare Stoudemire in the WCSF. Larry Hughes also missed games in the Finals.

2008 - The Celtics beat the Pistons with no 4x DPOY Ben Wallace or Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, and the Lakers with Bynum injured and Ariza playing negligible minutes due to injury.

2009 and 2010 - The Lakers benefited from injuries to Garnett in 2009 and Perkins in 2010. Yao Ming also missed more than half of the 2009 WCSF, and T-Mac missed the entire playoffs for the Rockets.

2012 and 2013 - The Heat played a sub-50 team in the ECF both years, and 5 out of 6 East teams in their 2 title seasons had under 50 wins (lockout teams adjusted for 82 games). The 2012 Celtics missed Avery Bradley and Jeff Green, and the 2013 Pacers were missing Danny Granger.

2014 - Ibaka was injured in the WCF against the Spurs, missing 2 games. OKC beat the Spurs in 2012 and 2016 with Ibaka.

2016 - Draymond was suspended for an elimination Game 5 in the Finals, and Bogut was injured as well.

2015 and 2017 - 7 of the Warriors' 8 opponents in their 2 title runs were injured. 3 of those 8 had 2 injured starters and not just one.

- Jrue Holiday
- Tony Allen + Mike Conley
- Patrick Beverly
- Kevin Love + Kyrie Irving
- Jusuf Nurkic
- George Hill
- Tony Parker + Kawhi Leonard

So if you are going to criticize Jordan for benefiting from the fall of the Lakers, Celtics, and Pistons, you have to apply the same criteria to everyone else, and there are numerous teams who deserve far more asterisks next to their rings under the same criteria.

Let's review some key points.

1) Even with home court advantage, Larry Bird's Celtics lost to Patrick Ewing's Knicks in the first round. Jordan's Bulls never lost to Patrick Ewing's Knicks in 5 playoff meetings, even with a 6 seed Bulls team in 1989. 

• For those claiming that this Celtics team was washed up, Bird was 1 rpg and 1 apg shy of a triple double, and McHale, Parish, and Lewis all played very well offensively. This wasn't the same Celtics team of the 80s. but they were still expected to beat the Knicks.

2) Magic Johnson and Kareem lost to a 40-42 Rockets team in the first round of the playoffs after winning the championship in 1980. Larry Bird's first championship came against that same 40-42 Rockets team. Jordan never lost a series with home court advantage like Bird, Magic, and Kareem did, and never lost to a team lower than a number 2 seed like Bird, Magic, and Kareem also did. 

3) The 80s Lakers never beat a team with a great center. Parish is only in the Hall of Fame because of Bird - he never made the playoffs in a season without Bird unless he was playing under 20 mpg off the bench. The 80s Lakers lost to Moses twice (1981 and 1983), and against Hakeem (1986), going a combined 2-10 in playoff games against them. These were the only times the 80s Lakers played a top 10 all-time center in a playoff series.

4) Larry Bird in 1983 got swept by Sidney Moncrief and Paul Pressey's Bucks in the second round. That was even when Bird had a stacked lineup up of Robert Parish, Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell, and Kevin McHale. As a rookie, Jordan had an 8 seed Bulls team of Orlando Woolridge and Quintin Dailey as his best options. He still managed to win one game against Moncrief and Pressey's Bucks in the first round even though Bird had the much, much more stacked team.

5) In 1990, Magic Johnson's Lakers had a top 7 defense and offense and the best record in the league. Magic also won MVP that year. Even then, Magic lost to a 5 seed Suns team led by Kevin Johnson and no Charles Barkley in only 5 games.

• Jordan ended up beating a Suns team with Kevin Johnson as well as the MVP Charles Barkley in the 1993 Finals.
• Every single team that Jordan lost to in the playoffs after his rookie year made the NBA Finals, something you can't say about the 1983 Bucks, 1990 Suns, or 1990 Knicks.

6) Larry Bird and Magic Johnson never swept the Bad Boy Pistons, which Jordan did in 1991. Not only that, but Bird and Magic never played the Pistons when they had the number 1 defense in the league, nor when Dennis Rodman won DPOY like the Pistons did in 1991.

7) Magic Johnson could not even win one game against the 1989 Pistons in the NBA Finals before his injury, even after his team went 11-0 in the Western Conference.

• Jordan's 6 seed Bulls were the only team that won a game against the 1989 Pistons, which they did twice

Unlike the 2007 Ben
Wallace-less Pistons and the 2010s
Celtic teams with a Garnett that
was no longer DPOY, the 1991
Pistons still had DPOY Dennis
Rodman and every major member
of their championship teams.

Let's recap the reasons why the 90s was vastly superior to the post-Jordan era of basketball

1. Jordan's washed up leftovers in 35-year old Gary Payton and 40-year old Karl Malone shut down the Spurs two best players in Tony Parker and Tim Duncan (after Games 1-2) during the 2004 WCSF, right in between their 2nd and 3rd championships. The Spurs are the best dynasty of the post-Jordan era, but got shut down by the washed up leftovers of Jordan's era - clear proof of the disparity in quality of competition. 

2. A much more watered down version of the Pacers made the 2000 Finals with no Antonio Davis, with Reggie at age 34, with Rik Smits in his last games, and with McKey and Chris Mullin barely playing. And they took Shaq and Kobe's Lakers to 6 games, without a top 10 defense. The 1994, 1995, and 1998 Pacers couldn't make the Finals with a top 10 defense and with most of those pieces in their prime.

3. Reggie Miller at age 33 and 34 outplayed Iverson in the 1999 and 2000 ECSF, and nearly outplayed MVP Iverson in the 2001 1st round at age 35. Reggie was never close to MVP consideration in the 90s, but outplayed Iverson who was an MVP of the inferior post-Jordan era.

4. Kevin Johnson is better than every PG of the post-Jordan era besides Steph Curry, yet only made 3 all-star teams in the stacked 80/90s, because the competition was far superior.

5. There are only two teams in history that beat 3 56+ win teams during the playoffs. The 1997 Bulls and the 1995 Rockets, who beat 4 57+ win teams. The 90s had the most 50 and 60 win teams of any decade, regardless of whether or not you adjust 1999 lockout teams for 82 games.

6. Karl Malone at age 40 outplayed Kobe and Shaq in their primes during the first round of the 2004 Playoffs against the Rockets.

Kobe had 24.4 - 5.6 - 6.2 and 2.8 spg on a poor 39% FG (44 mpg)

Shaq had 16.2 - 11.2 - 3.6 and 2.8 bpg on 52% and 30% FTs (42 mpg)

Malone had 18.0 - 10.4 - 3.2 and 1.8 spg on 49% and 59% FTs (39 mpg)

Now Shaq and Kobe are obviously top 10 players whereas Malone is only top 25, but it says a lot that Malone at 40 was still the best player for the Lakers, ahead of Kobe and Shaq, in the first round

7. PJ Brown at age 38 shut down Pau Gasol in the 2008 Finals, who is one of the best PFs of the post-Jordan era.

8. Latrell Sprewell shut down Vince Carter in the 2000 and 2001 Playoffs, after Vince's 2 best scoring seasons. Sprewell only made one second-team defense in the 90s. He also did a solid job on Kobe in the 2004 WCF.

9. Shaq is arguably the most dominant player of the 2000s, but got swept 5 times in the 90s even with good teams (whereas Jordan didn't have help in his playoff losses). Penny played great in the 1995 Finals, and the 1996 Magic were led to a 20-8 record by Penny in the 28 games that Shaq missed, giving them 60 wins for the season. 

Shaq's 90s teams were a combined 56-31 (0.644 win%) without him. In 1999, Shaq's Lakers were only 14-13 without Rodman, but 17-6 with Rodman which would have been on pace to tie the best record in the league 

10. The 90s had the best all-time defensive player at each of the 5 positions

PG - Gary Payton

SG - Michael Jordan

SF - Scottie Pippen

PF - Dennis Rodman

C - Hakeem Olajuwon (arguably with Russell)

Not only that, but 3 of the top 4 defenders of all-time, excluding Bill Russell, came from the 90s - Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson. 

And one needs to look no further than the first half of the 2001/02 season, before Jordan injured his knee, to see how easily a 38-year old, watered down version of Jordan dominated the far inferior post-90s competition on both the team and individual levels. Jordan averaged 25-6-5 before his knee injury, and led the 19-win Wizards to a 26-21 record (26-20 when he played) after which they lost 9/10 games following his injury. Jordan at 38 also shut down several of the top players including Sprewell (twice), Marion, Peja Stojakovic, Vince Carter, and Paul Pierce.

Jordan at age 34 proved himself under one of the top 3 hardest defensive circumstances for a championship team. In the shot-clock era, only the

- 1997 Bulls

- 1999 Spurs

- 2004 Pistons 

have won the championship while facing 2 sub-90 PPG defenses in the Playoffs. 

All 3 teams that faced more than 2 sub-90 PPG defenses in the Playoffs

- 1998 Pacers (3)

- 1999 Knicks (3)

- 2004 Lakers (4) 

failed to win the championship, confirming the harder circumstances become as a team faces more sub-90 defenses

The 2013 Grizzlies are the last sub-90 PPG defense in NBA history at 89.3 PPG allowed. So Jordan would no longer be facing defenses of comparable quality from 2014-present. 

The 1997 Bulls collective Playoff opponent win% was 0.686, the 2nd-highest of any Title team that played 4 rounds. Among Title teams that played 4 rounds, only the 1995 Rockets had a harder Playoff strength of schedule with a 0.726 collective Playoff opponent win%. 

Under these incredibly hard circumstances, both in terms of competition and defense, Jordan at age 34 still put up 31-8-5 on 46% FG - 81% FT for the 1997 Playoffs and led the team in 5/5 categories for the last 3 rounds collectively. 

All shot-clock era teams to face multiple sub-90 PPG defenses in one playoff run 

- 1997 Bulls (2) 

- 1998 Jazz (2) 

- 1998 Pacers (3) 

- 1999 Hawks (2) 

- 1999 Pacers (2) 

- 1999 Blazers (2) 

- 1999 Spurs (2) 

- 1999 Knicks (3) 

- 2004 Pacers (2) 

- 2004 Pistons (2) 

- 2004 Lakers (4) 

- 2012 Sixers (2) 

The 2012 Sixers are the only team post-2004/05 rule changes to face two sub-90 PPG defenses, but this comes with multiple asterisks 

1. The Sixers faced injured teams in both rounds of the 2012 Playoffs - Bulls with Derrick Rose missing all but 1 game and Joakim Noah missing 3 of 6 games in the 1st Round - Celtics with Avery Bradley missing 3 of 7 games in the ECSF, after starting every playoff game 

2. The 2012 Bulls and 2012 Celtics also had much worse defensive numbers against the Western Conference. Their defensive numbers were heavily protected by playing most of their games against Eastern Conference teams, and they were not true sub-90 PPG defenses. 

- 2012 Bulls = 94.1 PPG allowed vs West teams 

- 2012 Celtics = 92.7 PPG allowed vs West teams

The 2012 Celtics had a losing 7-11 record vs West teams as well. 

Players Averaging 20+ PPG in the Playoffs when facing 2+ sub-90 PPG defenses 

Unless otherwise noted, these Playoff runs are against exactly 2 sub-90 PPG defenses 

31.1 PPG - Michael Jordan (1997) - 31-8-5 on 46% 

26.3 PPG - Karl Malone (1998) - 26-11-3 on 47% 

24.5 PPG* - Kobe Bryant (2004) - 25-5-6 on 41% 

23.2 PPG - Tim Duncan (1999) - 23-12-3 on 51% 

21.5 PPG* - Shaquille O'Neal (2004) - 22-13-3 on 59% 

21.5 PPG - Richard Hamilton (2004) - 22-5-4 on 45% 

20.4 PPG** - Latrell Sprewell (1999) - 20-5-2 on 42% 

20.2 PPG - Reggie Miller (1999) - 20-4-3 on 40% 

*Shaq and Kobe faced 4 sub-90 PPG defenses, 2 sub-85 PPG defenses

**Sprewell faced 3 sub-85 PPG defenses, 4 sub-91 PPG defenses 

Reggie Miller in 1998 was exactly 1 total point away from having 20 PPG against 3 sub-90 PPG defenses, but went scoreless in the 4th quarter of Game 7. 

Under comparable statistical defensive circumstances to Jordan's in 1997 (not to mention competition in terms of collective opponent win%), no player has come close to Jordan's 1997 Playoffs performance, at age 34 and well past his prime no less. 

Jordan had by far the highest volume of PPG under these circumstances at 31.1 PPG. No other player has even reached 26.5 PPG in the Playoffs against multiple sub-90 PPG defenses. Of any 20+ PPG player under these circumstances, Jordan had the highest FG% of any non-PF/C. and Jordan also led the Bulls in 5/5 categories for the last 3 rounds of the 1997 Playoffs collectively.

Again, post-2004/05 rule changes no team has faced 2 true sub-90 PPG defenses in any Playoffs due to the asterisks surrounding the 2012 Sixers' competition. Therefore there is little reason to believe even the 34-year old past-prime version of Jordan in 1997, let alone prime Jordan, would have any lesser production in any post-illegal defense Playoff run outside of maybe 2004 compared to his 1997 performance, and certainly not after the 2004/05 rule changes.

Jordan's stats are actaully deflated compared to other stars, because he played with the fewest possessions possible during his 6 championships.

Championship Teams with a Sub-90 Pace in the Playoffs
17. 1994 Rockets - 89.9
16. 2010 Lakers - 89.6

15. 1992 Bulls - 89.0
T-13. 1989 Pistons - 88.9
T-13. 2007 Spurs - 88.9
12. 1993 Bulls - 88.5
11. 1991 Bulls - 88.1

10. 2012 Heat - 88.0
T-8. 2013 Heat - 87.3
T-8. 2005 Spurs - 87.3
7. 1996 Bulls - 86.8
6. 2011 Mavericks - 86.6

5. 2004 Pistons - 86.1
4. 2008 Celtics - 85.9
3. 1997 Bulls - 85.5
2. 1999 Spurs - 85.4
1. 1998 Bulls - 84.1

Amongst championship teams

Bulls have
- 6 of the top 15 slowest playoff paces
- 3 of the top 7 slowest playoff paces
- 2 of the top 3 slowest playoff paces
- the slowest playoff pace

Spurs have
- 2 of the top 8 slowest playoff paces
- the 2nd-slowest playoff pace

Bulls (6 times), Spurs (3 times), Heat (2 times), and Pistons (2 times) are the only championship teams with multiple sub-90 playoff paces. Though the Pistons were 15 years apart. No Title teams with a sub-90 Playoff Pace prior to 1989.

The fact that Jordan put up his amazing stats during his championship runs with the fewest possessions possible clearly shows how much more dominant he would be in any other era.

More

SECTION 1 - Players From Jordan's Day Against 2000s Defenses

- Looking at how the Jordan Era players had an easier time in the modern era

SECTION 2 - How Washed-up Jordan Did Against the Top Defenders of the "Advanced, More Athletic, Superior" 2000s Era

- Looking at how a 38-40 year old Jordan himself schooled the 2000s defenders

SECTION 3 - Jordan's "Weak" Defensive Competition Compared to Lebron/Kobe's "Advanced" Competition
- Proving the vast superiority of individual defenders of Jordan's era compared to the 2000s

SECTION 4 - The "Jordan Never Faced Zone" Myth

- Destroying the myth that Jordan never played zone defense

SECTION 5 - The Myth That 80s/90s Defenses Can't Contain Modern Players Without the 80s/90s Rules

- Proof that 80s/90s players would still have success guarding 2000s players without the 80s/90s rules

SECTION 6 - The Myth of Jordan's Inability to Deal with 80s Teams, and the Truth About Expansion

- Looking at how Jordan did against the 80s teams and why expansion did not make it easier to win championships

SECTION 7 - "Jordan Played Weak Competition in the 80s/90s"

- Proof that Jordan's Competition was 80s-quality and far better than the 2000s era

SECTION 8 - The Myth that Jordan Was Not As Valuable to His Teams' Success

- Looking at the truth of how the Bulls did without Jordan, and how other great teams did without their stars.

SECTION 9 - "Jordan Got All the Calls"

- Did Jordan really get any more special treatment than other superstars? Nope.

SECTION 10 - Wilt Chamberlain: Great, but Far From the Greatest

- Exposing the myths behind the great, but misunderstood, Wilt Chamberlain

SECTION 11 - The "Lebron is a 6-8 250 Freight Train and too Big/Strong/Fast to be Guarded in the 80s/90s era" Myth

- Looking at how Lebron got locked down by defenders of the 2000s era and comparing them to the vastly superior 80s/90s

SECTION 12 - Lebron: The Most Overrated Defender of All-Time

- Destroying one of the media's biggest misconceptions regarding Lebron's solid but vastly overrated defense

SECTION 13 - "Lebron Doesn't Have Enough Help, and No One Can Carry a Team Like Him"

- Lebron fans think no player in history could succeed if their teammates don't step up, and that Lebron is the only one who has carried a team on his back. Is that really the case?

SECTION 14 - Jordan vs Lebron: The Truth

- The real Jordan vs Lebron comparison

SECTION 15 - Jordan vs Kobe: The Truth

- The real Jordan vs Kobe comparison

SECTION 16 - Jordan (and Hakeem) vs Kareem

- Kareem is great, but he is not even the greatest center of all-time, let alone the greatest of all-time.

SECTION 17 - The Truth about Michael Jordan Without Scottie Pippen

- The full context behind Jordan's struggles without Pippen

SECTION 18 - Michael Jordan's Wizards Years

- A look at how Jordan turned the Wizards around before his knee injury caught up to him

SECTION 19 - The Case for Jordan as the Best Perimeter Defender of All-Time

- Looking at Jordan's defensive impact in detail, both as a team player and 1 on 1 defender

SECTION 20 - Why Jordan Would Accomplish More In Cleveland and Miami than LeBron

- Looking at the strong evidence supporting that Jordan would have achieved more than what LeBron has in Cleveland and Miami 

SECTION 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon: The Greatest Center of All-Time
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the best center of all-time, and there is strong evidence to prove it

SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Chris Paul is an extremely overrated playoff performer and defender, and isn't even a top 5 PG of his own era, let alone all-time

SECTION 23 - Kevin Johnson: The Most Underrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Kevin Johnson is an extremely underrated and under-appreciated point guard, who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and considered a top-10 point guard of all-time

SECTION 24 - The Three Greatest Playoff Runs of All-Time
- Analyzing the three greatest individual playoff runs in NBA history

SECTION 25 - The Worst Finals Performances of All-Time
- Analyzing the worst performances in NBA Finals history

SECTION 26 - Jordan vs Russell
- Comparing the two players who won the most championships as the best player on their team

SECTION 27 - The Five Greatest Coaches of All-Time
- Taking a look at the greatest coaches in NBA history

SECTION 28 - The Least Deserving Finals MVPs of All-Time
- Taking a look at the players who least deserved to win their Finals MVPs

SECTION 29 - Refuting 10 Myths About Michael Jordan
- Refuting certain myths about Jordan, as well as abridging of some of the main points in earlier sections for easier reference.

SECTION 30 - The 20 Greatest Conference Finals Runs of All-Time
- Ranking the 20 greatest playoff runs in which a player played 3 rounds before losing prior to the NBA Finals

SECTION 31 - The 1970s: The Weakest Decade of the NBA's Post-Infancy
- Why the 1970s was the weakest decade of any era from 1960-present

SECTION 32 - The 10 Worst Supporting Casts on NBA Finals Teams (1960-Present)
- Examining the worst supporting casts on teams that reached the NBA Finals

SECTION 33 - The 10 Greatest Rookie Playoff Runs of All-Time
- The most impressive playoff runs in which rookies led their team to at least one series win