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Despite a Perfect Record in the Finals, Michael Jordan’s Numbers Pale in Comparison to Isiah Thomas and Others on an Elite List

Published 09/25/2023, 12:10 PM EDT

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The biggest case for Michael Jordan being the GOAT over LeBron James is his impressive finals record. The Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, went 6-0 in the finals. This is one of the biggest achievements in the history of basketball. But a new list that talks about the player’s individual record in the finals can be deceiving, as they don’t have Jordan at the top.

Surprisingly, it’s not anyone from the Celtics or Lakers but a rookie champion with the Detroit Pistons who took the top spot in this ranking.

Michael Jordan fell in the finals ranking

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HoopsHype recently released their list of the top NBA all-stars with the highest winning percentage in the finals. The list wasn’t what people expected. This is because Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were not even in the top 10, even though they had a perfect record in the finals. They were both tied for the 12th position.

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In the list, the player that was ranked first was Mark Aguirre. He had a winning percentage of 88.89.

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Mark Aguirre was drafted in the first round in 1989. Midway through the season, the Detroit Pistons went on to trade for him. The same year and the following year, the Pistons went on to win the NBA championship. They swept the Lakers in the finals in 1989. The following year, they only dropped one game in the finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. So this made his finals record 8-1.

But surprisingly, the backcourt of the Bad Boys Pistons, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Bill Laimbeer made it into the top 10. All three were tied for the 8th position.

This can get even more confusing when we look at the fact that Isiah Thomas and the Pistons lost to the Lakers in the finals once. But at the same time, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen have a perfect record in the finals. Jordan made it to the finals 6 times. But in 5 of them, the series was closed out in game 6. This meant they lost 2 games each for 5 series which pushed their ranking down the list.

Further rankings to notice in the list

The list only consisted of players that have made the all-star game. Sam Cassell and Bill Cartwright from the Bulls were ranked above Jordan. Kevin Durant tied with Dennis Rodman and four others for the 15th spot.

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But the most hilarious part of the list is the ranking of the Golden State Warriors trio.

Even though Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green made the finals on the same team, Klay and Draymond have a better record in the finals. They are ranked a few spots higher than Stephen Curry. This is because Draymond missed a game with a suspension and Klay missed a game with an injury in the finals.

Curry played an extra game and lost to the others. So this gave the others a better record than Curry.

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What do you think of these stats? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Rijin Varghese

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Rijin is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been following the NBA for over a decade. He likes to learn about the nuances of sports, understand every player's contribution to a team, and also learn the logic behind player signings and team building.
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Edited by:

Caroline Joseph