One of the Top Players of All Time
It’s obvious that Michael Jordan holds many records, but there is one that he didn’t achieve until he reached his 40s. It is still true today that Jordan is the only player over the age of 40 to average 20 points during a game and score over 40 in a game.
In 1996, which was before his career was over, he was listed as one of the top NBA players of all-time.
Second to Chamberlain
As we all know, Michael Jordan is considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Why? He was 6-0 in finals series appearances. With that being said, he was second best to Wilt Chamberlain. Jordan came in second to scoring 3,000 points in a season in 1986.
Jordan tried his best, but Wilt Chamberlain had scored 4,000 points two decades earlier. However, Jordan did beat Wilt at one thing, and that is his 30.12 career points per game average beats Chamberlain’s by .05 points.
He Looked Up to Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan truly idolized Magic Johnson growing up. During his NBA career, he wanted to be referred to as “Magic” Jordan. We’re glad that it didn’t stick. “His Airness” has a better ring to it anyway.
In honor of Magic Johnson, Jordan had a personalized license plate made for his first car which was a 1976 Grand Prix. Long gone are his days of idolizing him because now he works with him as an owner. Johnson co-owns the Dodgers and Michael Jordan owns the Hornets.
He Received His Biggest Salary in 1998
If you’ve heard the Michael Jordan earned around $4 million a season and wondered if it was true, it is. For the 90s, that was a ton of money. In 1997 however, he had a huge jump in his earnings where he went from $4 million to $30 million. The following year he earned $33 million.
If Jordan was still playing ball, there’s no way we could imagine the kind of money he would be raking in.
Slam Dunk King
Michael Jordan was a guy who knew how to put on a show for the crowd. Although he wasn’t the tallest player in the NBA, he knew that fans loved a slam dunk. During one of his games, a fan challenged him to dunk on “somebody your own size” after posturizing 6’1” John Stockton.
Next, he took a leap of faith and took on Melvin Turpin who was 6’11”. Turpin should’ve been able to block him easily, but he failed, and the crowd went wild.