Appearing on ESPN’s morning show First Take, the former Detroit Pistons star specifically pointed out Jordan’s shortcomings in the ’80s. The former highlighted the fact that the latter put up incredible numbers but did not win any titles during that decade.
Isiah Thomas continued on by speaking about how Jordan was unable to beat Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics. In fact, in 1985-86 and 1986-87 the Chicago Bulls were swept 3-0 by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Thomas also mentioned how Jordan struggled against the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led-Los Angeles Lakers teams in the ’80s.
Michael Jordan in the ’80s
The Michael Jordan of the ’80s was a bludgeoning scoring machine that recorded some of the most absurd stat lines the game has ever seen. Not only that, he was also an incredible defensive player and more often than not picked up the toughest defensive assignment on a nightly basis.
Coming into the NBA as the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, Jordan set the league alight with his incredible athleticism and showmanship along with his ability to score at will.
Jordan played 80 or more games during the regular season for seven of his first eight years in the league. The only season in which he missed a huge chunk of games was when he broke his foot during his sophomore year in the league.
During the ’80s, Jordan averaged 32.8 points, 6 assists, and 6.3 rebounds while shooting the ball better than 51% from the field and nearly 85% from the free throw line. He also recorded 2.8 steals and 1.1 blocks on average during that time as he was a force on both ends of the floor.
But postseason success seemed to elude “His Airness” and the Chicago Bulls during that era. Only after the appointment of Doug Collins as head coach in 1986, did the Bulls and Jordan start finding some postseason success.
But even then, the Bulls couldn’t overcome teams such as their Central Division rivals The ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons during that time. Collins would leave Jordan and the Bulls in 1989 having never led them to a title.
With all that being said, fans must keep in mind that during those years Jordan barely had another All-Star alongside him. Despite that, he still managed to win the MVP(1988), DPOY(1989), and lead the league in scoring(1987-89) and steals (1988).
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