While Michael Jordan was an extremely competitive player, he never paid much attention to stats. Jordan wanted to help his Bulls teammates reach the next level, face the best teams and win.
Jordan’s career numbers were unreal, but doing all he could to help the Bulls win was his mission. Jordan set records and won accolades, but padding his stats was never his main goal. During an interview with former Georgetown head coach John Thompson in 2003, Jordan explained that winning was his priority.
“Well that, that never drove me. I mean the stats only add up when you put forth effort, you don’t worry about it. You know good things happen to the people that work hard. If I sit here and play for the stats, I would have never retired in 93, or I still probably be chasing Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time you know or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all-time scoring lead.
I mean that doesn’t drive me. I mean, sure, I mean it defines to some extent for people who don’t know me or 20 years from now would never know who Michael Jordan really is. But based on the stats, he must’ve been pretty decent. You know those are the only ways that I look at stats. Other than that it’s all about winning championships and winning. You know the stats that matter to me is games that we win and rings that you collect,” Jordan said.
Michael Jordan | " If i'd play for the stats, i'd never retire in 1993? or i'd still be chasing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record. That doesn't drive me. It's all about winning championships and winning 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆#NBA #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/SPjqnTdY6M
— The Jordan Rules (@Rules23Jordan) December 21, 2022
Jordan’s Mindset
Jordan went 11-0 in the NBA Finals, Olympic gold medal games, FIBA, and the NCAA Tournament Final. He is the only player in league history to score at least 20 points in all his NBA Finals games, and win the NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA All-Star Game MVP, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and NBA Rookie of the Year awards.
According to his former Bulls teammate Horace Grant, Jordan’s intensity in practice was a key to his success.
“Man let me tell you, man we thought this guy was just the devil,” Grant explained in an episode of the ‘Scoop B Radio’ podcast.
“In terms of the way he practiced, we thought that we were the Detroit Pistons or the New York Knicks,” Grant added. “This guy practiced so hard and if you weren’t on his team in practice you were his enemy. And that’s how driven this man was and that’s why you can say that he was the best player that ever played this game.”
Jordan ranks 10th among the winningest NBA players with six championships. He led the Bulls to two three-peats, one from 1991 to 1993 and the other from 1996 to 1998 after his return from playing baseball.
