Why did Jordan only make 6 finals appearances? What happened the rest of his career?

[Nash]

Compared to rest of the greatest players who managed to make more finals appearances than he did. Lebron, Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Russell got there more and dominated their post seasons. What was he doing the rest of his career?

For being the 2nd greatest player of all time, thats just very...... underwhelming.

[Shooter]

His consistency is very low. Basically it was win a ring or miss the playoffs for Mike. He lacked GOAT level consistency so that's why it's hard to put him in the top 3 now.

[starface]

Guys without a jumper who rely on hyper athleticism like MJ and Wade generally have about a six year window to really play their best before the wheels fall off. Obviously it’s better than nothing and Id take those guys over most role players, but the lack of longevity is a legit knock on MJ and is the main barrier that keeps him out of the current Top 5.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Guys without a jumper who rely on hyper athleticism like MJ and Wade generally have about a six year window to really play their best before the wheels fall off. Obviously it’s better than nothing and Id take those guys over most role players, but the lack of longevity is a legit knock on MJ and is the main barrier that keeps him out of the current Top 5.

This, and the impact argument. Neither Wade or Jordan had great impact which significantly lowers their status'. I have Jordan in the 9-12 range and Wade somewhere in the 40s. (Behind guys like Pippen and Pau, respectively)

[TheGoatest]

Very good point. 10-17 >>> 6-15

[Trollsmasher]

jordan only ever won when he was a favorite

this with a few solitary exceptions applies to not only Finals but to all the other series as well as even singular games

so pretty much every other season he didn't have a superteam around him turned out to be a complete catastrophe because he himself only added 2 wins to his team

[And1AllDay]

i used to have mike top 5 but this shit is wild

might push him further out now

[Axe]

We already have a thread like this, op.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Great to see young people striving to learn the history of the game. As a basketball historian, I hope can answer your question.

Jordan played 3 years in the league before the arrival of Scottie Pippen. The bulls simply did not have enough talent and Mj was not good enough to lift them to high seeds entering the playoffs. As a result the Jordan and the Bulls went 1-9 in the playoffs. I made a thread about when Jordan put the "1" in "1-9" or "1/10" here: http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...-1-quot-in-1-9

Enter: Scottie Pippen. With a young, raw Scottie, the Bulls began to improve during Scottie's first 3 years. They finally made it out of the first round. A rookie Scottie who had averaged just 8 points that year put up a clutch 24 points against the Cavaliers in a do-or-die game 5 in 1988 to lift the Bulls out of the first round, see http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...veland-in-1988.

The Bulls had a lot more playoff success over these 3 years as scottie developed into a superstar. Finally, in Scottie's 4th year 1991 they broke through. Scottie would lead the Bulls in scoring with 32 in the close-out game 5 of the 1991 finals to lift the Bulls to their first NBA title.

The Bulls would win again in 1992 and 1993. In 1993 Jordan "retired" and was replaced with Pete Myers, who had bounced around the NBA and spent the previous two years playing in Italy. Scottie put up an MVP-calibre season and got the Bulls out of the first round - a feat never accomplished by Jordan w/o Pippen. They would fall short to the eventual eastern conference champion Knicks (who narrowly lost in the finals in a game 7 to the Rockets due to a blocked John Starks shot in game 6) despite outscoring them in aggregate over the series.

In 1995 the Bulls were a weaker team. They had lost all-defensive player and all-star Horace Grant and not yet acquired all-defensive and all-star player Dennis Rodman. Jordan returned but simply didn't play up to par. The Bulls lost in 6 to Shaquille O'neal's Orlando Magic despite being the betting favorites going in. Pippen tried his best, scoring a team-high 26 points 12 rebounds to go with 6 assists in the do-or-die game 6. Jordan, however, didn't play well. He scored 24 points on 42% shooting and 6 turnovers. The Bulls lost.

In 1995-96, the Bulls acquired the aforementioned stud Dennis Rodman and the league expanded by two Canadian expansion teams. With the improved roster, Pippen out for blood, and the watered-down league the Bulls' relative position shifted. They were now a stacked juggernaut. They would win 72 games and play the Seattle Supersonics in the finals. The series was a defensive battle, with Jordan putting up just 27 points on 41% shooting. Pippen struggled offensively as well, but dominated defensively. In the closeout game Pippen would post 17/8/5 and 4 steals and Rodman 9/19/5 with 3 steals and block, helping to lift the Bulls and a struggling Jordan, who put up 22 points on 26% shooting, to their 4th championship.

The Bulls would not stop there. Winning two more titles in 1997 and 1998. Jordan "retired" again.

A past-prime Pippen would go on to have success with other teams, almost capturing his 7th title in 2000 but losing to the Kobe-Shaq Lakers in a hard-fought 7 game series. Interestingly, Pippen's Blazers, much like his 1994 team, outscored the Lakers in the aggregate of the series. Bad luck. Pippen spent much of the series guarding Kobe Bryant and held him below his season average despite Kobe playing 43 minutes.

Jordan would return and play the 2002 and 2003 seasons with the Wizards. The Wizards were a poor team -- they had no Pippen or Rodman. He would miss the playoffs both years, shooting terrible percentages. He did have some nice highlights though.

I hope that answers your question!

[pauk]

He was doing something the "6/6 Finals" narrative is desperately trying to forget/hide/not count... He was losing earlier and/or missing the playoffs entirely....

[And1AllDay]

He was doing something the "6/6 Finals" narrative is desperately trying to forget/hide/not count... He was losing earlier and/or missing the playoffs entirely....

wow

so not even 2nd place? worse? 16th place?

[Young X]

Two things.

There were great teams in the east in the 80's.

And his team was still developing. MJ needed Pippen to develop into being a star to give him some help.

[Marchesk]

Jordan didn't form a super team in some warm vacation spot. He patiently molded his Bulls into championship material in the windy city until they could overcome the great 80s teams.

[dankok8]

Jordan only had an all-star caliber player next to him (prime Pippen) for eight seasons. He won a championship in six of those and in the seventh one he was most likely one more win away from a title.

[Baller789]

Jordan only had an all-star caliber player next to him (prime Pippen) for eight seasons. He won a championship in six of those and in the seventh one he was most likely one more win away from a title.

Lebrontards dont know anything about building a team from ground up.
All they know is collusions and team hopping when the going gets tough.