“1988 Michael Jordan averaged 45 points in the Playoffs without even attempting a three!”: The Bulls’ GOAT put up insane numbers en route to securing MVP, DPOY, and the scoring title
Michael Jordan might have had most of his success in the 90s but 1987-88 was his best individual season just ask Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the 1987-88 season, a 24-year-old Michael Jordan in the most authoritative fashion proved that he will be the GOAT when it’s all said and done.
Although he achieved most of the success for his claim to the undisputed throne in the 90s, it took him just 3 years to deliver his best season in the greatest basketball stages of all.
That year, Jordan won the scoring title (35 PPG), steals title (3.2 SPG), his only Defensive Player of the Year Award, and first of his 5 regular-season MVPs. If that wasn’t enough, he won the dunk contest and the All-Star Game MVP awards as well.
Michael Jordan won the 1988 NBA Dunk Contest 34 years ago today. He also did a few other things that season 🐐 pic.twitter.com/KDuvilD5sl
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 6, 2022
“There is nothing like MJ’s 1988. The combination of being the league’s best player, best scorer, best dunker, and best defender is unprecedented,” Jack M Silverstein, Chicago sports historian, wrote in 2020. “He had more famous seasons, but the all-around dominance of ’88 stands out even in a run of gems.”
But sweeping almost every individual award wasn’t the only unreal thing “His Airness” did that season.
1988 Michael Jordan was otherworldly, the Cavaliers would agree
The 1988 Playoffs were the first post-season in which MJ led the Bulls past the 1st round. He continued his incredible regular season form into the knockouts and averaged 36.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.1 blocks in the 10 games Bulls played before getting eliminated at the hands of Isiah Thomas and Co who went on to reach the Finals that year.
But it was the 1st round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers that gave people reminisce of Wilt Chamberlain seeing a 6’6 guard torching an entire team on his own. Have a look at those unbelievable numbers in that series in the Basketball reference, credits to an NBA Redditor.
Lighting up teams in the regular season was one thing, but taking it to another dimension in the Playoffs was unimaginable. His 50-point games in that series were the NBA record for two fifty-point games in a single series.
The future 6x NBA champion averaged 45.2 pts, 5.4 boards, 4.8 assists, 2.8 steals, 1.6 blocks on 56% shooting, and 92% FT over a 5-game series without attempting a single 3-pointer.
All the success he has had in his 15-seasons in the NBA, that season should go down Michael Jordan’s career-best. Repeating that level of individual success and dominance in a single year would be impossible for anyone.
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