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Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest NBA player of all time. Given his accolades and performances in the NBA Playoffs, it is naturally hard to argue against that argument.
Of course, opinions will vary, but what will always remain untouched are the facts and the numbers that NBA legends like him have put up in their careers.
Jordan made a movie out of his NBA career with the Chicago Bulls, and most of the greatest scenes came during postseason battles, including the NBA Finals. He seemed to have a different gear compared to the rest of the players in the postseason, especially when his Bulls finally hit their stride as a winning team.
The North Carolina shooting guard owns some of the most impressive records in the NBA Playoffs. This includes most Finals MVP awards (six), most points scored in a single game (63) and the highest career average of points per game (33.4).
Michael Jordan's Top 3 games in the NBA Playoffs in terms of field goals made
However, there are some records that aren't as loud as others, and that includes the most field goals made in a single game. Michael Jordan shares that record with legends Wilt Chamberlain and John Havlicek.
Moreover, Jordan is the all-time leader in terms of games with 20 or more field goals made in the NBA Playoffs, with eight. To put it in context, Chamberlain (five) and Allen Iverson (three) have the same tally combined.
In this article, we will focus on field goals made and will give you Michael Jordan's greatest NBA Playoffs games based on that statistic.
Without further ado, let us take a look.
#3 22 field goals | 1997 NBA Playoffs | First Round, Game 2
With the Chicago Bulls trying to win their fifth NBA title since 1991, Michael Jordan was ready to fight right from the beginning of the postseason. The first team standing in the Bulls' way to another title was the Washington Bullets.
Chicago took a solid win in Game 1, with Jordan putting up a 29-point effort with eight rebounds and eight assists. The Bulls then followed it up with a 109-104 victory, guided by Jordan's 55 points.
He converted 22 of his 35 field goals in that game while making one of his two threes and all of his 10 free throws.
#2 22 field goals | 1986 NBA Playoffs | First Round, Game 2
This one might be one of Michael Jordan's biggest memories in the NBA Playoffs. That is, of course, excluding the six years in which the Chicago Bulls won the Larry O'Brien Championship trophy.
Game 2 of the first round of the 1986 NBA Playoffs saw one of the greatest individual displays ever in basketball history. On April 20th, 1986 at the Boston Garden, sophomore Michael Jordan scored a mind-numbing 63 points.
However, the game ended as a heart-breaking, double-OT loss against the almighty 1985-86 Boston Celtics, who went on to win the NBA title.
With this effort, Jordan broke the NBA Playoffs' record for most points scored in a single game previously held by Elgin Baylor. Baylor had managed a 61-point effort in Game 5 of the 1962 NBA Finals, which was also against the Celtics at the Boston Garden.
Jordan made 22 of his 41 attempts from the field that day and averaged 43.7 points in the series against Boston, although the Bulls were swept in three games.
#1 24 field goals | 1988 NBA Playoffs | First Round, Game 2
The 1987-88 NBA season was one of Jordan's greatest in terms of individual dominance. That year, he earned the NBA MVP award and the Defensive Player of the Year honor, becoming the first player to win both in the same season.
In the regular season, he averaged 35 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and a league-high (and career-high) 3.2 steals per game. He also made 53.5% of his field goals.
After appearing in each of the regular season's 82 games, Jordan led the Bulls to the second round for the first time since the start of his NBA career. In Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jordan put up 50 points on 19/35 shooting and the Bulls won 104-93.
In Game 2, Michael Jordan tied the NBA Playoff record for most field goals made in a single game, with 24 in 45 attempts, and scored 55 points. Wilt Chamberlain (1960) and John Havlicek had done it previously, and Jordan joined two of the biggest legends in NBA history.
The Bulls won Game 2 and went on to win the series in a hard-fought fifth game. However, they ultimately ended up falling to the 'Bad Boy' Detroit Pistons in the second round. This would happen again in the 1989 and 1990 Eastern Conference Finals.
With those two 50-point outings, Michael Jordan became the first player to record multiple 50-point games in a single series. It's a feat that has only been matched by Allen Iverson, Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray.
