Some rankings require an argument. This one really doesn’t. Michael Jordan is the greatest shooting guard in NBA history.
Six championships. Six Finals MVPs. Five league MVPs. Ten scoring titles. A Defensive Player of the Year award. The highest career scoring average in NBA history. And enough legendary moments to fill an entire list by themselves.
Jordan didn’t simply become one of basketball’s greatest players. He became the standard against which greatness in the NBA is still measured.
The Beginning of His Airness
The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft after his college career at North Carolina. It took approximately one season for everyone to understand what Chicago had.
Jordan averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a rookie, made the All-Star team and won Rookie of the Year. By his third season, he had become something completely different.
Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game in 1986-87, beginning a stretch in which he would lead the NBA in scoring for seven consecutive seasons. Defenses knew exactly who was getting the basketball. It didn’t matter.
63 at the Garden
Before the championships came one of the performances that showed just how special Jordan could become. During the 1986 playoffs, Jordan faced Larry Bird and the eventual champion Boston Celtics at Boston Garden.
In Game 2, Jordan scored 63 points, setting an NBA playoff single-game scoring record that stood for decades. Chicago lost the game in double overtime, but Jordan’s performance became legendary.
Afterward, Bird famously described what he had just witnessed as “God disguised as Michael Jordan.” Jordan was only 23 years old.
MVP and Defensive Player of the Year
Jordan’s scoring gets most of the attention, but reducing him to an offensive superstar ignores half of what made him extraordinary.
During the 1987-88 season, Jordan averaged 35.0 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game. He won the scoring title, league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
Jordan became one of the rare superstars capable of completely dominating a game on both ends of the floor. He would eventually earn nine All-Defensive First Team selections, establishing himself as one of the greatest defensive guards the league has ever seen.
The Shot
Before Jordan could build a dynasty, Chicago had to learn how to win in the postseason. One of the earliest iconic moments came against Cleveland in the first round of the 1989 playoffs.
Game 5. Chicago down one. Three seconds remaining.
Jordan caught the inbound pass, drove toward the foul line, elevated over Craig Ehlo and hit the game-winning jumper as time expired.
The Shot.
Jordan jumped into the air celebrating while Ehlo collapsed to the floor. It became one of the defining images of Jordan’s career, and somehow the biggest moments were still ahead.
The First Three-Peat
After years of battling through the Eastern Conference, Jordan and the Bulls finally broke through in 1991.
Chicago defeated Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games to capture the franchise’s first NBA championship. Jordan averaged 31.2 points, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game during the Finals and won his first Finals MVP.
Then Chicago did it again. And again.
The Bulls defeated Portland in 1992 and Phoenix in 1993, completing their first three-peat. Jordan was Finals MVP every single time.
His 1993 Finals performance was particularly ridiculous. Jordan averaged 41.0 points per game against Charles Barkley and the Suns, the highest scoring average in NBA Finals history.
Three championships. Three Finals MVPs.
Then Jordan walked away from basketball.
I’m Back
Jordan stunned the sports world when he retired in 1993 and pursued professional baseball. Then, in March 1995, two words changed basketball again.
“I’m back.”
Jordan returned to the Bulls late in the 1994-95 season. Only days later, in his fifth game back, he walked into Madison Square Garden and scored 55 points against the New York Knicks.
Chicago’s season eventually ended against Orlando in the playoffs. Jordan responded the following year by reminding everyone exactly who he was.
72 Wins and Another Championship
The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls became one of the greatest teams basketball has ever seen. Chicago finished 72-10, setting what was then the NBA record for regular-season victories.
Jordan averaged 30.4 points per game, won another scoring title and captured his fourth league MVP. The Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals, and Jordan won his fourth Finals MVP.
Then Chicago repeated in 1997. And once again in 1998.
Jordan had now led the Bulls to six championships in eight seasons, with the only two seasons they didn’t win during that stretch coming while he was retired or had returned with only 17 regular-season games remaining.
Two separate three-peats.
The Flu Game
Jordan’s career was filled with legendary performances, but Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals remains one of the most famous.
Jordan entered the game visibly ill and exhausted against the Utah Jazz. He still played 44 minutes and scored 38 points, including the three-pointer that gave Chicago the lead for good with less than a minute remaining.
The image of an exhausted Jordan leaning on Scottie Pippen as they walked off the court became one of the most recognizable moments of his career. Chicago won the game and eventually the championship.
The Last Shot
If Jordan’s Bulls career had been written as a movie, people might have complained that the ending was unrealistic.
Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Chicago trailed Utah 86-83 with less than a minute remaining.
Jordan scored to make it 86-85. Then he stole the ball from Karl Malone. Chicago had one possession to take the lead.
Jordan dribbled against Bryon Russell, created separation, rose from around the free-throw line and buried the jumper.
87-86 Bulls.
Utah couldn’t answer. Jordan had scored 45 points, Chicago had won its sixth championship and Jordan had hit the championship-winning shot in what became his final game as a Bull.
Six championships. Six Finals MVPs. Two three-peats.
What an ending.
A Résumé That Almost Doesn’t Make Sense
Jordan finished his career as a 14-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-Defensive First Team selection, five-time MVP, six-time Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and 10-time scoring champion.
He also led the NBA in steals three times and was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Jordan’s career scoring average of 30.1 points per game remains the highest in NBA history.
In the playoffs, he was somehow even better. Jordan averaged 33.4 points per game in the postseason, also the highest career playoff scoring average in league history.
The numbers are ridiculous. The championships are historic. And the moments are unforgettable.
The Standard
Every generation produces another superstar who gets compared to Michael Jordan. That’s part of his legacy.
Jordan became bigger than simply being the greatest player on the Chicago Bulls. His combination of scoring, defense, athleticism, competitiveness, championships and unforgettable performances helped transform him into one of the most recognizable athletes the world has ever seen.
There have been incredible shooting guards throughout NBA history. James Harden was an offensive machine. Jerry West was Mr. Clutch. Dwyane Wade was Flash. Kobe Bryant became the Black Mamba.
But at the top of the list stands His Airness.
Michael Jordan is my #1 greatest shooting guard of all time.
And with that, the Top 5 Greatest Shooting Guards of All Time is complete.
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