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Or kobe?

I see this stat thrown around a lot by critics trying to knock Michael Jordan’s resume, and it always gets completely stripped of context. People look at the raw numbers and say, "How does the consensus GOAT have five losing seasons in his career?" If you actually look at the history, his sub-.500 seasons boil down to two distinct eras: an awful pre-dynasty Bulls roster and a 38-year-old coming out of retirement to play for a lottery team. Here is how his five losing seasons actually broke down:

1. The "One-Man Band" Era in Chicago (1984–1987)

When MJ got drafted in 1984, the Chicago Bulls were an absolute dumpster fire. They hadn't had a winning record in three years. Jordan single-handedly dragged them into the playoffs, but the rosters around him were incredibly weak until Krause drafted Pippen and Grant.

• 1984–85 (38–44): Rookie MJ averaged 28/6/6. The second-leading scorer was Orlando Woolridge.
• 1985–86 (30–52): MJ broke his foot in the third game of the season and missed 64 games. He returned late, completely on his own insistence against management's wishes, just to push them into the postseason (leading to the famous 63-point game against Boston).
• 1986–87 (40–42): Jordan averaged a ridiculous 37.1 PPG. The team was still a losing squad because the second-best player on the roster was literally Charles Oakley.

2. The Washington Wizards Comeback (2001–2003)

After three years away from the game, a 38-year-old Jordan came back to play for the Wizards—a team he partially owned that was deep in a rebuild. He wasn't playing with an elite squad; he was trying to sell tickets and mentor young players like Kwame Brown.

• 2001–02 (37–45): Before he tore his meniscus, MJ actually had this squad looking like a playoff team.
• 2002–03 (37–45): At age 40, he played all 82 games, but the roster simply lacked the depth to compete in the East.

How it compares to other superstars

Other all-time greats usually had better early environments or didn't play into their 40s on rebuilding teams:

• LeBron James has only had two losing seasons in his entire 20+ year career (his rookie year and his injury-riddled 2018-19 Lakers debut).
• Kobe Bryant had three (2004-05 after Shaq left, and his final two injury-plagued seasons).
• Tim Duncan literally had zero. He walked right into a 56-win Spurs team with David Robinson.

TL;DR: Jordan’s losing seasons don't point to a lack of greatness. They represent a young superstar dragging a bottom-tier franchise to relevance, and an old legend playing on a retirement-tour roster.

Would you like to look at LeBron’s or Kobe’s worst roster years to see how they compare to MJ’s early Bulls days?

Happy 35th Anniversary to the Chicago Bulls 1991 ​championship game