Zach LaVine notched up the first 50-point game of his career in a loss last night. He was stumped when he learned how many of those Michael Jordan has.
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Through 11 full seasons and around 40 more games with the Chicago Bulls, MJ made all sorts of records. Some of those are so bonkers that it is tough to see anyone in the near future breaking them.
Jordan holds the record for regular season and playoff ppg, and he also has the highest ppg against 16 of 30 teams in the league today. He terrorized opponents on both ends of the court on a nightly basis.
Perhaps MJ’s greatest achievement is that he won the scoring title each year that he was eligible. He would also have bagged it as a rookie if the league hadn’t changed their rules midway through the season.
Zach LaVine is on the right track, but his best season thus far does not even hold a candle to Jordan.
Zach LaVine is shocked to learn that Michael Jordan had 38 50-point games
It should hardly come as a surprise to anyone that MJ leads the league in 50-point games since the 3-point line was introduced in the late 70s. Jordan has 38 of these games through his career. 31 of those came in the regular season.
When LaVine was told about this stat in today’s postgame presser, his reaction says it all. Even an elite modern-day scorer like Zach, capable of scoring at all 3 levels, has only logged 1 this year. Steph is the only player to have multiple 50-point games this year.
Zach LaVine on Michael Jordan scoring 50 points 38 times: “That dude is a ghost. He’s a myth.”
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 10, 2021
The Bulls are still in pole position to snag a play-in game berth this season. If LaVine could lead them to even a .500 record through the rest of the way, they have a chance to make their first playoff appearance in 4 seasons.
