Michael Jordan, the fan labelled GOAT.
Six Championships in eight years, in order Jordan and the Bulls sent home; Magic and the Lakers, Clyde and the Blazers, Barkley and the Suns, Payton and the SuperSonics, Malone and the Jazz x2, and last but not least the Monstars.
There are infinite ‘what if’s’ with Jordan, the big one being what happens if Jordan doesn’t leave to try his hand at baseball over the 94 and 95 seasons. However he’s here at number one on our list regardless. Jordan won five MVP awards, he also finished in the top three of voting on five other occasions.
Jordan sits 42nd all time in assists, 3rd all time in steals, and 4th all time in points.
There are numerous cool little records, stats, and numbers that further depict the brilliance that was Jordan on a basketball court. To name a few:
One of three players in history to win MVP, All-Star MVP, and Finals MVP in the same season. (Shaquille O’Neal and Willis Reed are the other two.)
Highest regular season and post-season scoring averages.
6-0 in the Finals.
Never lost a playoff series with home court advantage.
Scores 63 points in a single playoff game, which is still the playoff record. However, the bulls still left with a loss that night, Bird and the Celtics were ultimately too much.
The Resume:
Third Overall Pick 1984 – Chicago Bulls
14x All-Star
11x All-NBA
9x All-NBA Defense
Rookie of the Year
3x All-Star MVP
5x MVP
6x Finals MVP
6x Champion
Hall of Fame
How did the guys rank him?
The Flag Bearer: 12 tied, (1).
The Barn Burner: Justin Termine (4).
How did the other guys rank Jordan: Justin Rowan (2).
Average vote: 1.3
From the twittisphere:
@JoshEberley Flu game, Last shot in the 98 Finals, saving the Looney Tunes in Space Jam, 95-96 NBA season 72-10 Bulls team WOW.
— Steven Sparks (@scubasteve4289) October 5, 2015
@JoshEberley #HCHot50 when he beat Cleveland in the playoffs. Jump shot at end of the game. And, the look. Memorable.
— Colin MacKay (@coljmackay) October 5, 2015
@JoshEberley pic.twitter.com/yNi6p2eyIK
— 92 Bricks (@YaboyJiggleClay) October 5, 2015
Don’t like it? Think we got it wrong? Maybe, just maybe we got it right? Let us know using the #HCHot50 hash-tag. Or give the contributors hell, contact info below. Any tweets with #HCHot50 may be featured on the site going forward, tweet us your feedback!
Contributors:
Josh Eberley – hoopscritic.com / Host of the @PullUpPodcastHC, @JoshEberley
Jacob Noble – hoopscritic.com / Host of the @PullUpPodcastHC, @JacobNoble_HC
James Holas – hoopscritic.com / BballBreakdown, @SnottieDrippen
Adi Joseph – sportingnews.com, @AdiJoseph
Matt Drappel – sportsnet.ca, @MattyD416
Justin Rowan – fearthesword.com / hoopslounge.com, @Cavsanada
Robert Littal – blacksportsonline.com, @BSO
Shane Young – hoopshabit.com, @YoungNBA
Justin Termine – Sirius XM NBA / cinesport.com host, @TermineRadio
Marc Griffin – hoopslounge.com / sportsnet.ca, @montrealmarc
Lang Greene – basketballinsiders.com, @LangGreene
Justin Salkin – hoopscritic.com / brooklynsbeat.com, @brooklynsbeat
Will Reeve – awfsports.com / Host of the All Weather Fan Podcast, contributor for hoopscritic.com @WillReeveJr
and of course,
Brian Geltzeiler – hoopscritic.com / Sirius XM NBA / the-cauldron.com / 120sports.com, @hoopscritic
Links to previous #HCHot50 pages:
HCHot50 Intro / Missed the Cut
#50 Pete Maravich
#49 Dave Cowens
#48 Wes Unseld
#47 Dolph Schayes
#46 Paul Pierce
#45 Kevin Durant
#44 Dominique Wilkins
#43 Chris Paul
#42 Bill Walton
#41 Gary Payton
#40 Elvin Hayes
#39 Clyde Drexler
#38 Allen Iverson
#37 Steve Nash
#36 Willis Reed
#35 George Mikan
#34 Patrick Ewing
#33 Kevin McHale
#32 Jason Kidd
#31 George Gervin
#30 Walt Frazier
#29 Dwyane Wade
#28 Rick Barry
#27 Bob Cousy
#26 Scottie Pippen
#25 John Stockton
#24 David Robinson
#23 Dirk Nowtizki
#22 John Havlicek
#21 Isiah Thomas
#20 Bob Pettit
#19 Kevin Garnett
#18 Charles Barkley
#17 Karl Malone
#16 Moses Malone
#15 Elgin Baylor
#14 Julius Erving
#13 Jerry West
#12 Hakeem Olajuwon
#11 Oscar Robertson
#10 Shaquille O’Neal
#9 Kobe Bryant
#8 Tim Duncan
#7 LeBron James
#6 Larry Bird
#5 Wilt Chamberlain
#4 Bill Russell
#3 Magic Johnson
#2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar