Michael Jordan Was 1-9 Without Scottie...

One of the most common criticisms about Michael Jordan's career is how he was only 1 and 9 in the NBA playoffs before Scottie Pippen was drafted. Seeing how most of you viewers on my channel are longtime basketball fans, you're probably going to recognize that this criticism ignores a lot of context. But I will say, this criticism is becoming more and more prominent on social media, as more and more younger fans are introduced to the game and have no idea what the NBA climate was like in the mid-80s to the late 80s. So with that being said, let me give you a quick history lesson on the situation Michael Jordan was in at that time. When Michael Jordan was drafted with a third overall pick to the Chicago Bulls, he was joining a team with a 27-55 record. Not only was the team far outside of the playoff picture, but they had never won an NBA championship in the franchise's history. In Michael Jordan's rookie season, his teammates were Dave Corzine, Quentin Daly, Chris Engler, Sidney Green, Dave Greenwood, Rod Higgins, Steve Johnson, Caldwell Jones, Charles Jones, Wes Matthews, Jawan Oldham, Ennis Watley, and Orlando Woolridge. If you are a young basketball fan, I'm curious, how many of those guys have you actually heard of? Dave Corzine was the Bulls starting center during that era, and in the 1984 to 1985 season, as a 6'11 player, he averaged just 8 points per game on less than 50% shooting from the field. He also averaged just 5.1 rebounds per game. Of all the starting centers in the league that season, that was the second lowest rebounding average. So already, MJ's at a huge disadvantage. Orlando Woolridge was actually one of the very few quality teammates. Simply put, Woolridge was one of the most athletic players in the entire league, and when you combine that with his impressive 6'9 frame, that's a couple of gifts that put him in a position to do some damage. As an above-the-rim player, Woolridge was the team's second leading scorer in Jordan's first two seasons in Chicago, averaging about 22 points per game. Then some might point out that the Bulls also had John Paxson in those seasons, who people know now as a valuable perimeter shooter for Michael Jordan. But Paxson had not yet developed to that part of his game. In the first three seasons of Paxson's career, he shot a terrible 27% from the three-point line, meaning his overall value was extremely limited. Now consider this, Michael Jordan broke his foot in his sophomore season, and because of this, he was only able to play in 18 out of the 82 regular season games. Now when Michael Jordan played at least 18 minutes in a game, the Bulls had a 9-4 record. When he played less than 18 minutes, the Bulls were 0-5. Without Michael Jordan at all, the Bulls had a 21-43 record. They had the second worst record in the Eastern Conference when MJ returned from his foot injury. So when Michael Jordan was active and played decent minutes, the Bulls were winning at a rate of a 57-win team. What this essentially means is that when he wasn't playing, the Bulls were the second worst team in the conference. And when Jordan was playing with regular minutes, the Bulls were the second best team in the Eastern Conference. That is what you call individual impact. Now consider this, in the 85, the 86, and the 87 season before Scottie Pippen showed up, the Bulls only had one Hall of Fame player, and that was George Girvin, who played for Chicago in the 85-86 season, which was the final season of his career. The thing is, this version of Girvin was just a shell of his former self in San Antonio, and by the time the playoffs started, he was so washed that he couldn't even get any playing time. He played in only two of the Bulls' three playoff games against Boston, and in his 11 minutes of action, he was 0-1 from the field with 0 points, 2 turnovers, and 3 fouls. Other than a washed Girvin, in all three seasons before Scottie Pippen showed up, MJ didn't have a single teammate who made an All-NBA team, or who even made an All-NBA team at any point in their career. For three seasons straight, he had a supporting cast that was far below the rest, and that's putting it lightly. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks that they faced in the 1985 playoffs had won 59 games. They had multiple All-NBA players, multiple All-Defense team players, including a two-time defensive player of the year, and they had a two-time six-man of the year winner. The Celtics they faced in back-to-back playoffs had won 67 games in 1986, and 59 games in 1987. They had a three-time league MVP, five Hall of Famers, five current or former All-NBA players, and five players who had earned All-Defense team selections. From a talent standpoint, the comparison wasn't even close. To say that MJ's squad was short-handed would be a monumental understatement. Essentially, anyone who criticizes Jordan is blaming him for not beating one of the best teams in the league in the playoffs and one of the greatest teams in NBA history all by himself. It is simply one of the most ignorant and casual basketball takes that someone can have. Then you have to consider the fact that when Scottie Pippen did show up, he wasn't really doing much for the first couple of seasons. In Scottie's first year with the team, which was the 1987-88 season, the Bulls won 50 games. And Scottie didn't even start in a single contest, as he only averaged 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Meanwhile, MJ had one of the greatest individual seasons of all time, as he averaged 35, 6, and 5, 3 steals, and 1.6 blocks, on 53.5% shooting. He was the NBA scoring champion, the league MVP, and the Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Jordan led that Bulls squad to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, 3 games to 2. And in that series, Jordan averaged 45, 5, 5, 3 steals, and 1.6 blocks, on 56% shooting. Scottie Pippen averaged 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. But sure, make the point that MJ couldn't get it done without Scottie. The reality is, it takes a team to win a championship. But even with that being considered, there's no way an educated basketball fan can look at the first 3 years of Jordan's career, and be anything other than impressed. So what do you guys think? Does MJ deserve any criticism in his first few seasons before Scottie showed up? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for watching as always. 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