Ranking Every Single Season of Michael Jordan's NBA Career

We ranked every season of Michael Jordan's career, from Wizards to best.

Michael Jordan 1988
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Michael Jordan in 1988. Image via Getty

Michael Jordan 1988

Transcendent: beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience. If there was one word to describe the illustrious career of Michael Jordan, it would be that—transcendent. Pushing the boundaries of our imaginations and what we thought was possible on a basketball court, Jordan wasn’t just a basketball player, he was the basketball player. Everybody wanted to be like Mike, from his awe-inspiring acrobatics to his drive to win, to his amazing sneakers. He personified everything that was cool about the sport of basketball, and did so better than anybody who has ever played the game.

Leaving a lasting legacy is surely something every player dreams about when they enter the NBA. Some guys struggle to amass those moments; Jordan had enough throughout his 15 year career to progress from merely the best player all time to a mythological figure of sorts.

There was the time when he scored 63 points against the Boston Celtics in the 1986 playoffs, setting a postseason scoring record in his first ever playoff series, one that still stands to this day. Or how about “the shot” over Craig Ehlo, to clinch a series victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1989 Eastern Conference first round?

And who could forget about Jordan’s “flu game,” which took place 21 years ago today, and was the moment that arguably best represents everything about his career? Battling the flu during game 5 of the 1997 Finals against the Utah Jazz, Jordan not only brought his team to a victory on the road, but delivered one of the most iconic performances in NBA history, recording 38 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

Michael Jordan isn’t just the most iconic NBA player of all time, but arguably the most iconic athlete in North American sports history. With so many incredible seasons in his decorated career, it can be hard to choose which ones are truly his best. The flu game occurred during 1996-1997, but where do the rest fall? Here is our list of every, season of his career ranked.

16. 2001-02

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Stats: 22.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.2 APG

Nope. Not gonna talk about this.

15. 2002-03

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Stats: 20.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.8 APG

Did these seasons happen? We're not even sure they happened.

14. 1985-86

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Stats: 22.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.9 APG

Chicago made it to the playoffs the year before. They were 38-44, finished seventh place in the East, and got booted in the first round. But at least they had the Rookie of the Year. Things were looking up, but the Bulls started the next season 4-8. Then they lost Jordan to a broken foot and were forced to endure a 30-52 season where they still managed to make the playoffs (some things don't change).

 Jordan did come back in the postseason where he posted his first all-time classic. Against a champion Celtics squad featuring an in-his-prime Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, Jordan put up a playoff record 63 points in a double overtime game. The Bulls lost that game and eventually got swept, but at least he got Bird shook. “I think it's just God disguised as Michael Jordan,” he said after the game.

13. 1995

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Stats: 26.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 4.5 APG

Wouldn't it have been dope if after ending his sabbatical with “I'm back,” Jordan came back and saved the hell out of the average Bulls by busting ass? Doesn't work that way in the NBA. Of course, this was the season that proved a universal constant: As long as Jordan was wearing red, the Knicks are doomed to struggle. MJ's biggest highlight that season was his 55-point game in his return to the Garden.

Jordan went on to push the Bulls to a 13-4 record to finish the season, but he wasn't enough to beat the Magic. Shaquille O'Neal's squad beat them in six games in the first round, and Bulls fans were left with this realization: Michael Jordan really put up a 41.1 field goal percentage in his return.

12. 1984-85

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Stats: 28.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.9 APG

It's a special thing when you're seeing a legend in the making, like watching a big-dick Dave Chappelle get birthed. Michael Jordan's rookie year—one of the biggest in the league's history—is your NBA equivalent. The Bulls went from a 27-55 team to a 38-44 seventh seed behind Jordan's Rookie of the Year campaign, when he shot 51.5 percent. Jordan was also productive in that first round loss to the Bucks, averaging 29.3 points per game. His shooting dipped to 43.6, but hey, the best was yet to come.

11. 1997-98

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Stats: 28.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.5 APG

Really great moments tend to overshadow everything that comes before it. Jordan's Final Shot is that type of moment. Once he sent Byron Russell flying and clinched that sixth title, you forget that dreadful 96-54 blowout the Jazz caught (pause and think about this: 54 fucking points in a Finals game) and the idea that this wasn't really that great of a season for Jordan. By his standards, anyway. He dropped in nearly every statistical category, including from 48.6 percent shooting the previous season to 46.5. Still, a good Jordan is good enough for his sixth MVP, and how can you tell Jordan he's falling off when he's averaging over 32 points per game in the playoffs?

10. 1986-87

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Stats: 37.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.6 APG

A few months prior, the Celtics got a stern reminder of how good a Michael Jordan with two good feet could be. MJ spent the following regular season making sure the rest of the NBA got the memo. That 37.1 PPG is the fifth-most in NBA history. What's in a 37.1 PPG season? Two 61-point games, six other games with 50 points or more, and just seven games under 25 points. Amazing stuff, but it's also what you're forced to do when your teammates are weak. The Celtics on the other hand didn't suffer from that problem and again swept the Bulls in the first round.

9. 1988-89

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Stats: 32.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 8.0 APG

Jordan didn't reach immortality until the '90s, but averaging over 30 points per game nearly every season does tend to put you in the Weapons of Mass Destruction list. But this season was arguably his finest in the '80s; the man was two rebounds and assists shy of averaging a triple-double (thanks, in part, to Doug Collins' decision to move Jordan to the 1 spot). It was one of the best performances that didn't win an MVP; this was an era were Magic Johnson was still doing his thing.

After finally getting past the first round the season prior, Jordan again sunk the Cavaliers—and, more specifically, Craig Ehlo—with The Shot. Jordan and the Bulls then beat the Knicks before getting to the wall that separated Jordan and immortality: The Pistons. Detroit beat Chicago in the postseason for the second year in the row to solidify itself as the bane of Jordan's existence.

8. 1996-97

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Stats: 29.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.3 APG

Jordan was in a different place from his '80s offensive heyday. He had Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, and Steve Kerr on his squad. Jordan didn't really have to do that much, so it's understandable that he actually posted human numbers this season. The biggest example of that leniency is in the points per game column; this was Jordan's first full season since his rookie year that he averaged under 30 points per game. Jordan lost a big enough step for Karl Malone to snatch his MVP season trophy. It might've stung a bit, but it certainly wasn't the end of the world. This season, he put up the first triple-double in the All-Star Game's history (and was robbed of the MVP). Then the Flu Game and another NBA Championship happened.

A quick, but necessarily side note: This was the season he got crossed by a rookie. This season wasn't getting in the top five for that reason alone. And yes, Jordan's win over the Monstars was taken into consideration.

7. 1987-88

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Stats: 35.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.9 APG

In which Jordan finally starts getting the goods. This is the season where he won his first MVP trophy, earned his only Defensive Player of the Year, made All-NBA, and won his second Slam Dunk Contest in a duel against Dominique Wilkins. This was also the year when he finally made it out of the first round by beating the Cavaliers, 3-2. Those goddamn, pesky Pistons came after…

6. 1991-92

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Stats: 30.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.5 APG

Also known as Jordan's masturbatory year—the one where he goes out of his way to violate folks. He scores a free throw with his eyes closed to show Dikembe Mutombo how much he sucks. He blows up the Heat for 56 points in the playoffs. Later, he does that whole Dream Team thing. But first, he has one of his most Jordan moments ever: he scores 35 points and six threes in the first half of Game 1 of the Finals against the Trail Blazers—both records. Clyde Drexler, his “rival,” is humbled. By the time The Shrug happens, it dawns. The Blazers mourn in their futility. The Jordan Reign is upon them.

5. 1992-93

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Stats: 32.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.5 APG

What can you do when you try to dethrone the king, but the king flexes harder than you? Not a damn thing. Jordan upped his game a bit and improved slightly in multiple categories: points per game, steals per game, rebounds per game, free throws percentages…minutes. Highlights included his tremendous 64-point game against O'Neal's Magic and yet another playoffs series-clinching game winner against the Cavaliers. Top that by robbing the closest shot Charles Barkley had at getting a ring en route to a three-peat, and you've earned the right to a sketchy early retirement.

4. 1995-96

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Stats: 30.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.3 APG

Michael Jordan was the centerpiece to the team with the best season record in NBA history. That fact by itself puts this season in the top five. After a disappointing return, the Jordan era continued with him winning the season MVP, All-Star MVP, and Finals MVP in the Bulls' win over the Sonics. This one was for Dad, too, so we ended up with one of the most heartbreaking moment in sports at the season's end.

3. 1989-90

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Stats: 33.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 6.3 APG

This was the start of a beautiful thing for Michael Jordan. Phil Jackson became the Bulls' head coach, and eventual partner-in-crime Scottie Pippen was still improving. 1989-90 also saw the Bulls finish with what was then the best record of his career (55-27) thanks, in part, to its top ten-scoring offense. Then March 28, 1990 happened. As if The Shot wasn't bad enough, Jordan violated Cleveland even harder by putting up a 69-point, 18-rebound performance. It was looking like this one as going to be Jordan's year. But again, the Pistons…

2. 1990-91

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Stats: 31.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.5 APG

For years, parents have used Michael Jordan as the symbol of perseverance: that you can achieve anything if you work hard. They skip over 1990-91, though. That year Mike was using Black Magic or some other kind of basketball sorcery that parents don't want their kids fucking with. Here are the season's numerous examples of it:

—31.5 PPG. On 53.9 percent shooting.

—The 38-point, 19-rebound performance in Game 5 against the Sixers in the semifinals.

Banging it on Patrick Ewing.

—Finally beating the Pistons in the playoffs.

This. Shit. Right. Here.

His first NBA championship.

—Finally attaining God level.

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