Michael Jordan is one of the best scorers to ever play in the NBA. MJ’s career scoring average of 30.12 points per game is slightly better than the legendary Wilt Chamberlain’s 30.07. So if Wilt once scored 100 points in a single game, could “His Airness” have done it?
Well, Jordan himself claimed that he could do so under today’s rules. During a promotional event for the NBA 2K11 video game in 2010, MJ talked about how the game has changed since his days and then made the bold claim.
“It’s less physical, and the rules have changed, obviously,” declared Jordan. “Based on these rules, if I had to play with my style of play, I’m pretty sure I would have fouled out, or I would have been at the free throw line pretty often, and I could have scored 100 points.”
Rodman said that MJ would average 50
Chamberlain’s feat remains the only centennial scoring game in the history of the NBA. Wilt accomplished this during the 1961-62 season, where he averaged 50.4 points per game. That currently stands as the highest single-season scoring average in the history of the league.
Meanwhile, MJ’s best scoring year was in 1987, when he averaged 37.1 points per game. Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 out of his 15 NBA seasons, averaging at least 30 points per game in eight of those campaigns. Because he played in the most physical era of basketball, many argue that he could’ve scored more in today’s game, where defenders are no longer allowed to use the hand-check to defend the offensive player.
According to Jordan’s former Bulls teammate Dennis Rodman, MJ would average 50 points per game if he played in today’s era. If Rodman is correct, then Jordan would’ve matched Wilt’s best-scoring season. And if that’s the case, then maybe perhaps scoring 100 points isn’t impossible.
Jordan’s career-high was 69
Michael had 173 career 40-point games, a number topped only by Wilt’s 271. MJ also had 31 50-bombs during his 15-year NBA career, the most by any player in history except Chamberlain. “His Airness” topped the 60-point mark four times, including a career-high 69 points which he achieved against the Boston Celtics on March 28, 1990.
In that game, MJ took 37 field goal attempts and made 23. He also shot 21-23 from the free throw line in 50 total minutes of action. When Wilt scored 100 points in 1962, he took a total of 63 shots and made 36. Chamberlain also made 28 out of 32 free throws while playing the full 48 minutes.
You can make a good argument that Mike would’ve been a better scorer in this era. Perhaps he would average over 40 points per game when playing under today’s rules. But scoring 100? That’s another story.