Has Michael Jordan Been Surpassed?
At least 32.8 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game, and 6.3 assists per game are not ordinary numbers They’re so abnormal that I could count how many times they’ve been achieved on one hand. Michael Jordan did it in 1990, James Harden did it in 2019 and again in 2020, and Luka Doncic accomplished those numbers last season. Those are three of the greatest guards to ever play the game of basketball.
Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest player of all time and in the 1989-90 season, he had the highest single-season points per game (37.1) since the NBA/ABA merger. Harden is one of the greatest players of his generation and his 36.1 points per game in 2018-19 were second only to Jordan. The following season, he averaged 34.3 points which is fifth all-time since the merger. Doncic, who is perhaps the most skilled player to come out of the draft this century, averaged 33.9 PPG last year and had the highest single-season PPG + RPG + APG (52.9) in NBA history.
Putting aside some of the mind-boggling statistical seasons from Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, etc. because basketball was played entirely differently back then, many view Jordan’s ‘89-90 season as the greatest individual regular season ever. But some people declare Jordan the greatest without even thinking—it’s hard to admit to another’s players greatness due to nostalgia and the fact that many of his challengers are current players. I believe that type of argument is narrow-minded. Thus, let’s see how Harden’s and Doncic’s seasons compare to MJ’s.
In the past, I’ve used a stat called Season Score that combines some of the most important statistics that contribute to individual success and winning and generates a score. It was created by acclaimed basketball YouTuber and historian Jxmy Highroller. The formula is as follows.
Season Score = 10 points for winning DPOY + PPG + RPG + APG + 10 points for an ALL-NBA defense selection + PER + win shares + box plus-minus + value over replacement + 5 points for leading in either PPG, RPG, or APG + 5 points for winning ASG MVP
Now, I’m not going to write an article that just copies a bunch of math that somebody else created; I’m obviously going to add my own twist. One thing about the formula that I disagree with is that it doesn’t factor in winning. I understand why; it seems unfair to reward Kevin Durant for winning 58 games with the 2017-18 Warriors and to ding LeBron James for winning only 50 games with the excuse of a supporting cast that he carried to the Finals in 2018.
Despite that difference, it turns out that each of the players I’m calculating a season score for had a similar level of talent beside them. Jordan had the 1990-91 championship team without Dennis Rodman. Harden had a second star in Chris Paul and a decent supporting cast around them. Luka had Kyrie and a mediocre supporting cast with a strong center rotation. Thus, with each player’s external conditions being similar, winning should be a tiebreaker. I’ll add each player’s wins in the season they played (will not include team victories that the player didn’t play in).
Michael Jordan in 1989-90
James Harden in 2018-19
James Harden in 2019-20
Luka Doncic in 2023-24
Jordan still hasn’t been touched. The arguably greatest player of all time still owns the best season for every player of his ilk—an multi-skilled, dominant guard. Though comparisons arose during Harden’s prime and Luka’s numbers seemed unmatchable by even the greatest players, Jordan’s 1989-90 season still remains the standard.
So, what was the point of this article? To talk up well-known NBA lore from 35 years ago and make an uncontroversial take about one of the greatest players in sports history? Wrong. Because as it turns out, there’s a player this season who is putting up Jordan-like numbers—so much so that people are starting to say that his season has surpassed the greatest Jordan years ever.
“He’s having one of the best scoring seasons in the history of the guard position. Like what he's doing this year - you can put against any Jordan regular season.” —Bill Simmons
Others such as ESPN’s Tim McMahon and The Ringer’s Zach Lowe have joined Simmons in drawing comparisons from this player to Michael Jordan, essentially saying that there are no more arguments against him—he’s officially playing some of the best basketball we’ve ever seen.
They’re not wrong.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in 2024-25
Your eyes are not deceiving you. SGA’s incredible two-way, ultra-efficient, 64-12 season receives a season score that is an entire 9.0 points higher than Michael Jordan in 1989-90. And unlike Jordan in that season, SGA has been so incredibly good that he’s going to fend off Nikola Jokic’s greatest season ever and win the MVP.
I’m sure there are people out there who are saying, “Winning is a team exercise and SGA’s team is better than Jordan’s was.” I get it. We have no way to put Michael Jordan on the 2024-25 OKC Thunder so we’ll never know if Jordan could have led this team to a 69-13 record like SGA is on pace to do. Here are the season scores without wins taken into account.
Even without the incredible heights of winning that SGA has catapulted the Thunder to, his season still clears Harden’s seasons and Luka’s seasons—they were both miserable defenders in their best statistical years—and nearly reaches Jordan’s best season.
However, this table is hardly relevant to begin with because SGA’s supporting cast is arguably worse and his competition is inarguably more challenging than what Jordan was dealing with. You may not believe me, but he is legitimately proving to be more of a winning player than Jordan in his best regular seasons.
The Robin to Jordan’s Batman was 24-year-old Scottie Pippen, who was beginning to enter his prime as one of the best two-way players to ever play the game. Pippen was a first-time all-star that year. OKC’s number two option—Jalen Williams—was a first-time All-Star this season (in his third year just like Pippen) and has a very similar athletic, two-way profile to Pip. Those guys essentially offset each other.
Chicago’s third option was power forward Horace Grant, whose numbers were coincidentally very similar to OKC’s power forward Chet Holmgren. Grant averaged 13.4, 7.9, and 2.8 in 1989-90 and Holmgren is averaging 14.5, 8.3, and 1.9 this season. Both were early on in their career as Grant was 24 and Holmgren turns 23 next month.
The Bulls’ starting lineup was rounded out by John Paxson, a 6’2 passing and defensive-minded guard, and Bill Cartwright who was a consistent seven-footer who had a little bit of everything to his game. The Thunder’s starting five is completed with Lu Dort…a defensive-minded guard, and Isaiah Hartenstein…a consistent seven-footer with a little bit of everything to his game.
Paxson averaged 10.0 PPG and Cartwright averaged 11.4. Dort averages 10.1 and Hartenstein averages 11.3. Both duos combine for 21.4 PPG. You can’t make this stuff up.
One thing Paxson provided was a true point guard for Jordan to bounce off of. Jordan is a shooting guard and we’ve seen examples of natural shooting guards getting uncomfortable when they have to play the point position and focus more of their attention on distribution. SGA doesn’t have that luxury. He handles the ball on almost every possession despite playing mostly off-ball at the beginning of his career and not being the starting point guard until this season, and is leading his team in assists as a result.
Jordan also had the luxury of playing for a Hall-of-Fame head coach Phil Jackson who won 11 championships in his time with the Bulls and Lakers. Mark Daigneault is a good coach but has yet to establish himself as anything more than the product of SGA’s greatness.
Finally, in the 1989-90 season, the top six Bulls in terms of minutes per game missed a combined 11 games. The Thunder have been without Holmgren for 48 games, Hartenstein for 22, Williams for 11, and Dort for eight. SGA has been the one constant point—he’s only missed three games all year and has led the Thunder to a 9-0 record when he plays without Williams and a 39-7 record when he plays without Holmgren.
What Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is doing is historic. His season score discounting winning 124.6 ranks 15th in NBA history. That means that on average, we only come across a season like his once every five or six years. The list of a players with a better season than his are Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Giannis Antetokounmpo, David Robinson, and Kevin Garnett. Those are seven of the greatest players of all time. Factoring winning in, only MJ, LeBron, and and Shaq have put together better seasons than SGA. Soon enough, the NBA world will realize that SGA warrants a place in those exclusive groups.
I’m not saying Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is better than Michael Jordan, but is he on track to be? One thing’s for sure: SGA’s season has been an incredible starting point.