Every NBA team’s greatest draft pick of all time
By Dre Elder
The Chicago Bulls had only made the playoffs three times in the 10 years preceding the 1984 NBA Draft. The Bulls were coming off a season where they went 27-55 and ranked 21st in the league for attendance. Then, the plot thickened.
The Bulls selected Jordan third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft. Jordan exploded onto the national scene and invigorated the Bulls’ franchise as a rookie. He averaged 28.2 points on 51.5 percent shooting to go with 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. Jordan was voted as an All-Star starter and selected to the All-NBA Second Team in his first season. And the Chicago Bulls finished ninth in attendance as their numbers spiked by 90 percent. If you didn’t witness the story, you’ve certainly heard it on a loop.
The awe of Michael Jordan’s story also lies in its missing chapters. Jordan first retired from basketball at the ripe age of 29. At that time he was the league’s leading scorer for the seventh consecutive year. The Bulls were three-time reigning NBA champions. Jordan had already collected three Finals MVP’s and two NBA MVP’s. Basketball became so easy to him that he grew bored and vanished to play minor league baseball. Please chew on that.
Jordan returned to basketball after nearly two years and reclaimed the throne. He won two more MVP’s and three more championships. When Jordan retired again in 1998 at age 35, he was still the best player on the planet. In total, he threw away at least four great seasons. Heck, the Bulls legitimately could have won eight straight championships in the 1990s.
Michael Jordan remains the greatest basketball player ever. So in the interest of recency bias, take that for data!