It may be a hotly-debated topic nowadays, but Michael Jordan is still widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. Jordan won 6 titles, 6 Finals MVPs, 5 MVPs, a Defensive Player of the Year, and 10 scoring titles. The last two together are quite impressive, as it shows just how much effort he used to put in on a night-in, night-out basis on the court.
With him having to expend so much energy, you’d think that MJ would probably take a few nights off here and there, but that’s not how he was built. He, in fact, played all 82 games in 9 seasons, quite an impressive feat when you consider everything we just stated earlier.
“Michael Jordan played in all 82 regular season games 9 times.””Played 81 games in 1988-89, 80 in 1991-92, and 78 in 1992-93.””Never missed a single game from March 19, 1995 to June 14, 1998.””179 playoff games.”All 82 games at age 39-40.””Most durable superstar since Wilt.”
It is incredible that he didn’t miss a single game after coming out of retirement for the first time in 1995 until his second retirement after winning the title in 1998. After he came out of retirement once again to suit up for Washington Wizards, MJ still wanted to play every game and practice every day, despite being a 40-year-old.
In this era where players take games off every now and then, it is safe to say we won’t see any superstar doing this moving forward. For some context, LeBron James has played all 82 games just once, in the 2017-18 season, while Kevin Durant only did it in 2009-10, although he did play all 66 games in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season. Stephen Curry, meanwhile, has never played all 82 games, and he isn’t going to do it this season, either.
Michael Jordan Played All 82 Games And Averaged 37.0 MPG In His Last Season
Jordan’s desire to play basketball was so strong that he’d keep pushing himself to get onto the court. Despite turning 40 in his last season, he made it a point to play all 82 games and what is even more remarkable is that he averaged 37.0 MPG while doing so.
Isiah Thomas once stated that Jordan has an energy level that is unmatched by any other athlete that he has seen , and that was probably why he managed to accomplish this. He was no slouch when it came to performing on the court either, averaging 20.0 PPG.
Source: fadeawayworld
