Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan play against each other

Comparing two stars who succeeded at different times has been quite tricky. The comparison becomes less perplexing when it comes to players that have played against each other at least once because we have something to go on. This is an intriguing subject regarding Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two of the greatest basketball players ever.

Did Michael Jordan Face Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Indeed, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did play against each other during their time in the NBA. They played each other eight times, all of which were regular-season games. They were always at different conferences. Therefore, postseason meetings were only possible in the NBA Finals. Jordan entered the league in 1984, and Kareem retired in 1989 before Jordan made his first NBA Finals appearance.

These games are worth playing. They each put up impressive numbers in the eight games they played against each other.

 

Eight matchups – Jordan vs. Kareem

Jordan vs. Kareem games took place between 1984 and 1989. Because they split the games evenly, neither player acquired an advantage. Jordan won four with the Chicago Bulls, while Kareem won four with the Los Angeles Lakers.

During those games, Jordan averaged 31 points, six rebounds, and seven assists while shooting 46 percent from the field.

On the other side, Kareem averaged 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists while shooting 58 percent from the field.

 

Kareem vs Jordan Head to Head – Totals

Player

G

W

L

GS

MP

FG

FGA

FG%

FT

FTA

FT%

TRB

AST

STL

BLK

TOV

PF

PTS

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

8

4

4

8

28.5

6.4

11

0.58

3.5

4.3

0.824

5.5

2.4

0.6

2

1.9

2.8

16.3

Michael Jordan

8

4

4

8

40.1

11.5

24.9

0.462

8

9.3

0.865

5.8

6.8

2.3

0.8

2.9

3

31.3

Apart from a few games, there were few close scores in these eight games. The Bulls won two games by one point, while the other six were far from close. The other two Chicago victories were total routs, while the four Los Angeles Lakers victories were all decided by at least seven points.

Throughout these matchups, Jordan was rarely pitted against Kareem. At the time, Magic Johnson was still in charge of the Los Angeles Lakers and was Jordan’s primary opponent on the floor. Jordan was starting his Mount Rushmore journey while Kareem was “winding” down (he’d still make four Finals, winning three of them). But, in the end, the Lakers won four games and kept two more close, while Jordan led Chicago to four wins.

Between 1984 and 1989, the Lakers were unquestionably the best team in the league. They reached the Finals 8 out of 10 times in the 1980s, winning 5. The Bulls still needed to assemble the group and team spirit that had propelled them to six finals and six championships in the 1990s.

Kareem vs. Jordan: The Facts

Following is a box score breakdown of each contest that Jordan and Kareem faced off in (stats courtesy of StatHead Basketball)

As you can see, Jordan took the first one, most likely eager to establish himself in his first season against the dominant club then. Then Kareem went on a tear, and the Lakers annihilated the undermanned and outgunned Bulls in four straight games. Before Jordan hooked up with Pippen and the Bulls began their rise to supremacy, Jordan won the next three head-to-head meetings with Kareem, tying the series at 4-4 all-time.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan is regarded as the best basketball player of all time. Jordan played in 15 NBA seasons after being picked by the Chicago Bulls as the third overall choice in 1984. He dominated the league from that point forward, becoming one of the sport’s most well-known faces. Jordan won six championships, averaging 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He also had a brief period after his father’s death when he retired and spent time playing baseball.

He never made it past the lower leagues but refused to back down from the avalanche of criticism he received for the switch. Michael eventually returned to the court and dominated for the Bulls once more. Jordan constantly put up ridiculous statistics on the court while trash-talking his teammates and opponents to keep the game as close as possible. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not the same type of player as the shooting guard. This is why comparing the two is challenging; however, the games they played against each other demonstrated how special Jordan was at this point in his career, while Abdul-might Jabbar’s have been winding down.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem was nearing the conclusion of his career with the Lakers when he started going head-to-head with Michael. He spent 20 years in the NBA after being selected as the first overall choice in the 1969 NBA Draft. As you can see, there was a 15-year gap between his being drafted and Jordan being chosen in 1984. Kareem averaged 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in his career, but all of those figures fell against Jordan since he was in a considerably reduced role and was in the final five or six years of his playing career.

Abdul-Jabbar was able to match Jordan’s total of six championships by winning with several teams. The first was with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971, and the other five came after he transferred to the Los Angeles Lakers, where Magic Johnson accompanied him for several years. He wasn’t as outspoken as Jordan, but he was a strong post-player who couldn’t be stopped on the inside.

Bringing Them Up Against Each Other

While we never saw them line up to defend one another, we might envision what may have transpired. These men thrived in their play styles, and taking them away from that may not be a good idea. For example, Jordan would certainly roll past Kareem on the perimeter due to his explosiveness and speed. He could constantly generate offense outside as Kareem struggles to keep up with him. If you put Jordan on the inside against Abdul-Jabbar, he’ll be pushed back underneath the rim and punished in the paint.

It’s thrilling that we could get eight games with these two legendary NBA players, but it would have been even better if we could have gotten more action between them as time went on.

 

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