'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Also read: Top 10 Regular season scorers in NBA History
Michael Jordan or MJ is considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is among the best athletes of the modern era. He had a splendid career in the NBA playing for Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards during his illustrious career. He excelled both individually and as a team player; winning six NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals, six NBA Final MVPs and five NBA Most Valuable Player awards. As a shooting guard, he was known for his all-round skills on the court. Throughout his career, he led his team to victory and rescued them on various occasions. He decided 25 games with field goals or free throws in the last 30 seconds while playing for the Chicago Bulls, including two NBA Finals games and five other playoff contests.
He is also a leading business tycoon, being one of the richest basketball players of all time and being the man behind Nike's most famous shoes 'Air Jordan'. Even with his stature of being one of the most prolific players in history he did have some bad days on the court. As we approach his birthday let's take a look at the list of five worst losses in terms of point margin featuring MJ:
#5 Chicago Bulls vs Cleveland Cavaliers (30 points)
During the 1986-87 season, Chicago Bulls played two consecutive games against the Cleveland Cavaliers on a January weekend. They won the one at home and suffered the worst loss of the season at the home of the Cavs (114-84) the following day (24 January 1987).
Also read: 5 Untouchable feats of Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan topped the scoring in the match with 27 points but couldn't rescue his team from a big loss. Phil Hubbard finished with a season-high 23 points leading the winner's scoreboard. With a huge fan following of Bulls due to the presence of Jordan, it was a day to forget for all of them.
The Cavaliers took an early lead of 14-2 in the first quarter due to four turnovers committed by the Bulls. Cavs finished the quarter with a score of 32-16 and extended it to 54-39 at half-time. Jordan hit 19 points in the first half which was just under half of his team's points. The Bulls had six basketless minutes in the third quarter which took the scores to 69-40 and finally finishing off at (114-84) without any recovery in the last quarter as MJ could only manage 8 points in the second half.
#4 Chicago Bulls vs Boston Celtics (30 points)
It was a splendid season (1887-88) for Michael Jordan individually. He averaged 35 points in the season and bagged the first NBA Most Valuable Player of his illustrious career. Michael embarrassed the Celtics with a 50-point-game at home on 18th March 1988, but he was kept to a meager 26 points on return to the Celtics' home on 20th March 1988. The Bulls were routed 137-107 in a high scoring game.
Jordan started off well as he scored 11 points in the first quarter. Limiting Jordan this season wasn't an easy task but he picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter with his team reeling the Celtics by just two points (75-73) before he was subbed. He was unable to hit the top form after returning as Celtics kept him in check.
Larry Bird starred for the Celtics with 33 points bettering his 19 points in a losing cause on the 18th. Celtics lead the third quarter 95-85 before finishing off a 137-107 whipping of the Bulls.
#3 Chicago Bulls vs Atlanta Hawks (30 points)
It was a game Michael Jordan would like to forget for his individual performance, along with all the Bulls on the roster. The game played at Atlanta on 25th February 1989 saw only 18 points scored by MJ. As usual, he was the leading scorer for his team with little support from John Paxson and Horace Grant who scored 13 points and 10 points respectively.
On the other hand, both of the Hawks, Doc Rivers and Moses Malone scored 22 points apiece to lead their team to a 125-95 rout of the Bulls. Atlanta led by just five points (60-55) at half-time which was extended to a 23 points lead in the third quarter (94-71). The Bulls could not recover from this as Dominique Wilkins and Reggie Theus added 20 points and 18 points respectively with the latter also getting a game-high 10 assists. It was a game completely dominated by the Hawks. Jordan and team lacked the firepower to put up a fighting display.
#2 Chicago Bulls vs New York Knicks (32 points)
This was the heaviest loss Chicago Bulls suffered since the return of Michael Jordan in March 1995 after a stint in Minor League Baseball. The Bulls were having a great season with a record of 54-7 before they had this forgettable day (10th March 1996) at New York. Knicks, on the other hand, were having a fairly poor season (35-26) but they took this opportunity to thwart the Bulls' attack. Michael Jordan was the leading scorer on the day with 32 points. Scottie Pippen and Steve Kerr were the only other Bulls to get double-figure points with 11 and 10 respectively.
Chicago Bulls managed to score 32 points in the second half with just 12 points in the last quarter. Knicks were led by Patrick Ewing who scored 26 points and Derek Harper (23 points) who shot 16 points at a stretch including four three-pointers. The 104-72 victory for the Knicks also broke a six-game streak of the Bulls, who had 20 turnovers in the game.
Chicago Bulls, however, went on to win the season with an impressive record of 72-10 in the regular season. Michael Jordan was also the NBA Most Valuable Player of the season.
#1 Chicago Bulls vs New York Knicks (37 points)
Michael Jordan picked up a leg injury early in the game and sat out most of the first quarter before playing coming back to play most of the second half. He never got going as he could manage only 17 points, a season low, in the game. Nine of these points came in the last quarter as he missed 16 shots out of 20 taken. MJ was averaging 47.7 in the previous three games but the injury break put a break on his scoring as he couldn't find his consistency in the game.
New York Knicks were a better team as they went on to inflict the worst loss in Michael Jordan's career. A scoreline that read 112-75 is not something MJ would like to remember. The game played on 28th November 1992 at New York witnessed a one-sided affair with Bulls providing no answers to the offense and defense of the Knicks. "We got our butts kicked today," Jordan said. "We didn't come in with the same intensity they did. It's been a while since we've been totally taken out of a ball game like this."
Charles Oakley played a physical game with 16 rebounds for the Knicks and he was well supported by Patrick Ewing who scored 26 points. Chicago Bulls went on to win the Championship this season with a regular season record of 57-25, defeating Phoenix Suns in the finals.
