“If I’d play for the stats, I’d never retire in 1993 or I’d still be chasing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring lead”: Michael Jordan laid emphasis on winning games and rings over statistics

When Michael Jordan revealed statistics don’t matter to him. It was only winning and championships that ignited the NBA legend.

If statistics were a teacher, Michael Jordan would be her favorite student. The Bulls legend was a generational player the NBA had never witnessed. During his Hall of Fame career, MJ collected every individual statistic in the book and won six NBA championships.

His Airness averaged 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG, and 2.3 SPG in fifteen seasons in the NBA. Jordan is the all-time leader in PPG. Jordan shot close to 50% from the field in his NBA career. MJ has scoring titles, DPOY, MVPs, steals leader, ROY, IBM awards, and a Slam Dunk championship under his belt, to name a few.

However, these individual achievements never mattered to the superstar as he was always concerned with winning. Though trade analysts and pundits continue using MJ as a yardstick, when it comes to measuring greatness. The ten-time scoring champion is an institution in itself.

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Jordan was an enigma both on and off the court. The opposition was beat before they even stepped into the United Center. MJ instilled fear in the minds of his opponents with his assassin mentality.

Michael Jordan paid no heed to individual statistics during his career.

Jordan is 6-0 in the NBA Finals and didn’t let any series go till a Game Seven. Though legends like Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have more or as many titles as Jordan, they weren’t as popular as the Bulls legend. MJ was the game-changer in the league, popularizing the sport globally.

Though MJ never indulged in any statistic debate during his career, his accolades are something every potential NBA aspirant desires to achieve. The Bulls legend is the only player to 3-peat twice after the league changed major of its rules.

In an old clip, MJ talks about how relevant are statistics to him.

“Well, that never drove me. Stats only add up when you put the effort, you don’t worry about it. Good things happen if people work hard. If I’d play for the stats I’d never retire in 1993? or I’d still be chasing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring lead. That doesn’t drive me. It’s all about winning championships and winning. Stats that matter to me are the games we win and the rings that you collect.”

MJ agreed that stats were a good recall value for people who didn’t know him and what he had achieved. Perhaps, after twenty years it could be used to remember his greatness. However, other than that, stats never mattered to him.

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It’s been almost two decades since Jordan hung his boots, but his achievements and competitive drive continue to inspire millions.