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It’s tough to return into the NBA as a rookie and dominate in opposition to gamers who’re grown males. Nonetheless, that wasn’t the case for Michael Jordan. In his rookie season, Jordan set the NBA ablaze, averaging 28.2 factors, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per sport. His sport quickly elevated him to MVP discussions that solely function the league’s finest gamers.
Nonetheless, Chris Mullin, MJ’s teammate from the 1992 USA Dream Workforce roster, believes that the Bulls legend was already forward of everybody within the NBA as a school participant at North Carolina.
Jordan formally turned an NBA participant in October of 1984 after he performed his first NBA sport, fairly a couple of months after the Bulls chosen him with the third total choose in that 12 months’s Draft. Nonetheless, Mullin urged throughout a podcast look that Jordan was enjoying higher than the most effective NBA gamers even earlier than he participated within the ’84 Olympic video games in Los Angeles.
Mullin and Jordan had been teammates on the 1984 USA Workforce. The previous Warriors star highlighted the moments he seen Jordan’s greatness,
“I noticed it occur the primary time in ’84… We performed eight exhibition video games in opposition to NBA choose groups. However these choose groups had been Magic, Chicken, Isiah, Ralph Sampson, all the most effective guys had been popping out. Michael each evening was the most effective participant on the ground.”
On the time, NBA gamers weren’t allowed to take part in Olympic tournaments, a rule that may be modified in 1992. All of the gamers on the 1984 United States Olympic roster had been school athletes. Jordan led the way in which in USA’s gold medal marketing campaign that 12 months, joined by the likes of Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Alvin Robertson and Chris Mullin.
The 1984 USA Olympic group performed eight exhibition video games in opposition to NBA choose groups earlier than going to the LA video games. Jordan led the USA aspect to an 8-0 document over the NBA’s finest gamers. In a matchup in opposition to a backcourt of Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson, Jordan completed with 27 factors in an 84-72 victory.
Moreover, the USA group went on to win eight extra video games within the Olympics to seize the gold medal. MJ averaged 17.1 factors per sport within the match totalling 137 factors. He completed with a game-high 20 factors within the USA’s gold medal sport in opposition to Spain.
That’s fairly the resume for an NBA rookie about to take over the league.
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