Michael Jordan Outscored 982 of the 983 Opponents He Played Against in His Career Except 1 Sixers Legend

Michael Jordan has always been one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. But surprisingly he has not outscored all of his opponents. During his time with the Chicago Bulls (1984-98), he faced 983 opponents and outscored… 982 of them. Who is the one player that got the best of Michael?

Michael – The relentless competitor and scorer

Michael has the highest PPG average for a player at 30.17 points per game. And is also the highest PPG scorer in NBA Playoffs with 33.45 points per game. He had a deadly mid-range jumper, and he paired it with a monstrous work ethic.

Jordan had a versatile offensive game and could aggressively drive to the basket and draw fouls from his opponents at a high rate. As he progressed through his career, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot, using his leaping ability to avoid block attempts. MJ also had an above-average free throw percentage, making 83 percent of his free throws.

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Jordan paired his never seen before athleticism with body control, which allowed him to dunk and make layups like never seen before. Unsurprisingly, he won the scoring title 10 times. He also won the dunk competition in 1987 and 1988. This also led to him being anointed as “Air Jordan”.

Iverson – An enigma

But there was one opponent who outscored Jordan. Who was he? It is Sixers legend Allen Iverson, as he remains the only player to outscore him in head-to-head games: 7 games between them, 27.1 points per game for Iverson, 24.4 for Jordan. Iverson himself is one of the greatest scorers in league history and had his jersey retired by the 76ers after his retirement.

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Iverson was the first overall draft pick by the sixers in a legendary 1996 draft class. His other draft classmates were Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, and Steve Nash, among others. Iverson was an undersized point guard and shooting guard, had quick feet and could go to the basket with ease. One of the most exciting moment involving these two came when a rookie Iverson crossed Jordan who was defending him.