After LeBron James' scoring record celebrations last weekend, it is fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan's turn to party in the coming days.
The former Chicago Bulls (and Washington Wizards) superstar turned 60 on Friday.
Stats Perform has marked the occasion by recapping some of the most remarkable numbers of his career – from one to 60.
1 – Since the ABA–NBA merger, Jordan is the only player to have scored 60 or more points in a playoff game, finishing with 63 in a double overtime defeat to the Boston Celtics in 1986.
2 – As if dominating in the games that mattered was not enough, Jordan twice won the Slam Dunk Contest in 1987 and 1988. At the time, he was the only player to have won it back-to-back.
3 – Jordan was the All-Star Game MVP on three occasions, beaten only by Kobe Bryant, who the award is now named after, and Bob Pettit.
4 – In the regular season, Jordan scored 60 or more points in four different games. Bryant (six) is the sole player to have topped that feat since the merger.
5 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six) alone has won more MVP awards in the regular season than Jordan's five.
6 – Jordan boasts a remarkable 6-0 Finals record and was named Finals MVP on each occasion. No player can match his six such awards.
7 – In leading the league in scoring between 1986-87 and 1992-93, Jordan tied Wilt Chamberlain's record by doing so in seven straight seasons. They are the only two players to lead the league in scoring in any seven seasons.
8 – Jordan scored 50 or more points in eight different playoff games, a dominant record. Allen Iverson is his nearest challenger with three such performances since the merger.
9 – As well as being a legendary scorer, Jordan was named to the All-Defensive First Team on nine occasions. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in 1988.
10 – Jordan led the league in scoring in a record 10 seasons across his career, following up his streak of seven in a row by doing so in 1995-96 to 1997-98.
11 – In his rookie season, Jordan led the league in total points (2,313), although Bernard King and Larry Bird were ahead in scoring average. Along with his 10 seasons as NBA scoring champion, Jordan led the league in total points 11 times.
12 – Jordan needed only 12 games of his rookie season to reach 300 points, the fewest since the merger.
13 – Led by Jordan, the Bulls lost only 13 games across the regular season and postseason in 1995-96. Their combined 87-13 record remains the best of all time.
14 – Jordan was a 14-time All-Star. In a 15-season career, he was not selected only in the 1994-95 season when he came out of retirement after the All-Star Game. He missed the 1986 game through injury.
15 – Jordan is one of 15 players to have made more than 10,000 field goals in the regular season. He ranks fifth on 12,192.
16 – The NBA named Jordan its Player of the Month on 16 occasions, with all of those wins coming before the award was split by conference from the 2001-02 season.
17 – Jordan made 17 field goals in the 1988 All-Star Game, tying a Chamberlain record. It stood for a further 26 years before being broken by Blake Griffin.
18 – An early highlight of Jordan's career saw him score the Bulls' final 18 points in a win against the New York Knicks. No player in the NBA had previously scored 18 points in a row, although he broke his own record by scoring 23 straight in a 61-point game against the Atlanta Hawks.
19 – Of the 119 playoff wins Jordan played in, 19 were by at least a 20-point margin.
20 – Jordan's scoring average of 20.0 in his final season in 2002-03 was comfortably the lowest of his career. Only LeBron James (20 – including 2022-23), Abdul Jabbar and Karl Malone (both 17) have averaged 20 or more points in more than Jordan's 15 seasons.
21 – Jordan was 21 at the start of his rookie season, but he averaged 27.7 points before his birthday. That is the best average of any player before their 22nd birthday since the merger.
22 – At the end of his rookie season, Jordan, aged 22, became the youngest player ever to score 30 points in consecutive playoff games. That record was later broken by Bryant.
23 – The number Jordan wore is forever associated with his remarkable career. It was retired by the Bulls but also by the Miami Heat ahead of their final game against him.
24 – Jordan made a move to point guard for the final 24 games of the 1988-89 regular season and dominated in a whole new way. He had 12 triple-doubles over that stretch – he only had 28 across his entire career – as he averaged 30.4 points, 10.7 assists and 9.2 rebounds.
25 – Jordan won his first Player of the Week award in January 1985 and his last 18 years later in January 2003, just three months before he retired for good. That was his 25th win.
26 – In the 1997 All-Star Game, Jordan recorded the event's first ever triple-double. He had 14 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes.
27 – Jordan played more playoff games against the Knicks than against any other team, averaging 33.1 points across those 27 games.
28 – A sign of what was to come saw Jordan score 28.2 points per game in his rookie season, a record since the merger.
29 – Of Jordan's 32,292 regular season career points, 29,277 came playing for the Bulls. Discounting his points for the Wizards, Jordan still ranks above Shaquille O'Neal, who is eighth on the all-time NBA scoring list.
30 – Jordan's 30.1 career points per game in the regular season rank him first all time. Only Chamberlain (also 30.1) is also above 30.
31 – Since the merger, no player can match Jordan's 31 50-point games in the regular season. Modern greats like James (14) and Stephen Curry (11) have less than half as many such performances.
32 – Jordan scored 246 points in the 1993 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns, just 32 fewer than Jerry West's 278 against the Baltimore Bullets in the 1965 playoffs – the most ever by a winning player in a single series.
33 – A career playoff scoring average of 33.4 remains unmatched, although Luka Doncic (32.5), Jordan's nearest rival, is still going strong.
34 – The Portland Trail Blazers were Jordan's favourite regular season opponents as he averaged 34.0 points in such matchups, although he averaged 34.8 against the Utah Jazz when counting only games as a starter.
35 – Jordan scored 20 or more points in a record 35 straight Finals games between 1991 and 1998. That sequence included scoring a benchmark 35 in a single half against the 1992 Trail Blazers.
36 – Jordan played in 37 playoff series for the Bulls and was the leading scorer in 36 of those, beaten only by the Milwaukee Bucks' Terry Cummings during his rookie year.
37 – The best scoring season of Jordan's career saw him average 37.1 points per game in 1986-87, a mark only beaten by Chamberlain (four times) and Elgin Baylor.
38 – Jordan's final 50-point game came in the 2001-02 season, aged 38. He was the oldest player to have such a performance until Jamal Crawford in 2019.
39 – Although later known as a legendary postseason winner, Jordan did not come out on top in a playoff series until his fourth attempt. His 39 points in Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1988 took the Bulls beyond the first round.
40 – In scoring 43 points in 43 minutes against the New Jersey Nets four days after his 40th birthday, Jordan became the first and only player to score 40 points in a game aged 40 or older.
41 – Jordan still boasts the best scoring average for a Finals series with his 41.0 against the Suns in 1993.
42 – Even in his final season, Jordan scored 20 points or more in 42 games. He did so in at least 70 regular season games in 10 separate seasons and in 926 games over the course of his career.
43 – Across three playoff games in 1986, Jordan averaged 43.7 points – an NBA high for a single postseason.
44 – The 1988-89 season that included 15 Jordan triple-doubles also unsurprisingly saw a career-high for double-doubles. He had 44 in the regular season as he averaged highs in both assists and rebounds (both 8.0).
45 – Jordan played his final playoff game in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Jazz and scored 45 points in a one-point win.
46 – MJ played four games on his birthday, with his best performance on February 17 seeing him score 46 points against the Cavaliers in 1992.
47 – Jordan ended his career having scored 20 or more points in each of his final 47 playoff games, albeit he later played two more seasons with the Wizards without making the postseason.
48 – Jordan finished having played 48,485 minutes across the regular season and postseason for his career.
49 – MJ attempted a career-high 49 field goals in a 64-point performance against the Orlando Magic in 1993. Only Bryant (50 against the Jazz in 2016) has since attempted more in either the regular season or postseason.
50 – The Bulls relied on Jordan to score more than 50 per cent of their points in four different playoff games, including his last with the team. The Bulls won each time.
51 – Jordan shot 51.5 per cent from the field in his rookie season. No guard has made more field goals in a rookie season (837).
52 – Before Jordan returned with 17 games remaining of the 1994-95 regular season, seeing the Bulls go 13-4 to finish, the team had a middling 52.3 per cent win percentage.
53 – Jordan is the only guard in NBA history to attempt 1,750 field goals in a regular season and make at least 53 per cent – he did so three times.
54 – Jordan scored 54 points in the first game of the 1989-90 season. No player since the merger has scored more in the first game of a new season.
55 – Game 4 of the 1993 Finals saw Jordan score 55 points, his most in a championship series and behind only Baylor's 61 against the Celtics in 1962 all-time.
56 – Jordan's biggest playoff performance in a game that did not go to overtime saw him put up 56 in a 1992 win against the Heat. Legend has it he played a full round of golf on the morning of that game, too.
57 – Jordan had a 24-11 record in the NBA Finals, but one defeat in the championship series was the longest game of his career. He played 57 minutes in a triple overtime loss to the Suns in Game 3 in 1993.
58 – In a 1987 game against the Nets, Jordan outscored his opponents' entire starting five. The Nets' starters scored 54 to Jordan's 58.
59 – Jordan's great team-mate Scottie Pippen won 73.5 per cent of the 859 career games he played alongside MJ across the regular season and postseason. Pippen won only 59.8 per cent of 527 games when not playing with Jordan.
60 – Jordan scored at least 20 points in a record 60 consecutive playoff games between 1989 and 1993.
Lakers will 'play 'til the wheels fall off', vows LeBron James
LeBron James has urged the Los Angeles Lakers to deal with the pressure, and thrive under it, as they aim to avoid a series sweep against the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers slumped to a 3-0 lead in their first-round series against the reigning NBA champions following a 112-105 loss on Thursday.
Denver have now won 11 straight games against the Lakers, who squandered a big lead in Game 2 and were no match for the Nuggets in Game 3, with Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon in fine form.
James had 26 points and Anthony Davis had 33 for the Lakers, but Los Angeles went just 5 of 27 from the floor and missed 15 of their first 16 3-pointers.
Defeat means the Lakers will have to become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 0-3 playoff deficit to keep their postseason alive.
James, though, laid down the gauntlet for his teammates.
"It's one game at a time, at this point. You lose, you go home. You come out with the mindset, 'Let's get one, force a Game 5, and then we go from there,'" James said.
"As long as you still have life, then you obviously have belief. I just think you play 'til the wheels fall off. That's what it's always about for me.
"That's a mindset, and I know [Davis] feels the same way.
"You're supposed to have anxiety and pressure, or feel the pressure.
"That's what it's about. This is what the postseason is about.
"Me and this guy [Davis], have been playing together for six years. We've been to the mountaintop. We've been close to the mountaintop. We've played a lot of games.
"We know what it takes to win. We know what it takes to win a championship and how damn near perfect you got to be. That's not like something that's so crazy to obtain."
Lakers coach Darvin Ham came under criticism from some fans following the Game 3 loss, but he paid credit to the Nuggets.
"They have a championship confidence," he said.
"That starting group has been together for a long time. Their net rating is off the charts as a starting group. They had guys step up and make plays."
The Nuggets are taking nothing for granted.
"I think every game is tougher and tougher," Jokic said.
"They were up 20 in Denver; they were up 12 today in the first half. I think it's really hard to play against the same team over again.
"You can't get bored with the style of the play or whatever. You just need to keep doing you, especially for us - because we won the last three - and just trust what we are doing and don't get bored with success because it can go wrong really quick."
Embiid reveals Bell's palsy diagnosis after historic 50-point performance versus Knicks
Fresh from putting up 50 points in the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 3 win over the New York Knicks, Joel Embiid revealed he has been suffering from Bell's palsy, a condition affecting the left side of his face and causing blurred vision.
The reigning NBA MVP added eight rebounds and four assists to his half-century as the Sixers dragged themselves back into their first-round series after two road losses.
He became the first player in playoff history to record a 50-point game while attempting fewer than 20 shots, going 13 of 19 from the floor and making 19 of 21 free throws.
He did it while suffering from a condition which causes temporary weakness or lack of movement in one side of the face.
Embiid has to continually use eye drops to combat the blurred vision, and he says the symptoms could last for weeks or months.
"I think it started a day or two before the Miami game [in the Play-In tournament], and I had bad migraines and thought it was nothing," Embiid said in his post-game press conference.
"It's pretty annoying, you know, with the left side of my face, my mouth and my eye. So yeah, it's been tough.
"I'm not a quitter, so I've got to keep fighting, but yeah, it's unfortunate. That's the way I look at it. It's not an excuse. I've got to keep pushing."
Smiling, he added: "I just hope it could stay like this. I've got a beautiful face. I don't like it when my mouth is looking the other way.
"Like I said, it's an unfortunate situation, but everything happens for a reason. Like I said, I've got to take care of myself mentally."
Embiid has endured a difficult season after landing the NBA's top individual prize last year. He missed two months after undergoing surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee in February.
Still wearing a brace on the affected knee, Embiid said he is still unable to trust it completely.
"No, I'm just trying to keep pushing," he said when asked if he had 100 per cent confidence in his condition. "Like I said, I'm not going to quit.
"Even if it's on one leg, I'm still going to go out there and try, but no, that's not an excuse. I've got to keep playing better and better and better.
"Tonight I got lucky. I made a few shots. I've got to find a way to rebound, and I don't even care about rebounds. I've just got to make sure that my man doesn't get it, and then box out my man and take him out of the play. Whatever it takes to win."
NBA: Nuggets close to Lakers sweep, Embiid has 50 as Sixers cut deficit
The Denver Nuggets are on the brink of sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers after opening up a 3-0 lead in the teams' first-round series on Thursday, registering their 11th straight win against them.
Aaron Gordon had a playoff career-high 29 points and added 15 rebounds, while Nikola Jokic was just short of a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as Denver clinched a 112-105 win.
Having squandered a big lead in Game 2, the Lakers failed to respond at home as the Nuggets began the second half with a 24-10 run to pull away from their hosts. Los Angeles failed to get closer than eight points in the fourth.
LeBron James had 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists, while Anthony Davis had 33 points and 15 rebounds, but Los Angeles were let down by their shooting from the field.
They shot just 5 of 27 from the floor, missing with 15 of their first 16 3-point attempts.
Game 4 takes place at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, with the Lakers needing to become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 0-3 playoff deficit to keep James' 21st season alive.
A small group of home fans showed their displeasure with head coach Darvin Ham after the loss, staying behind to chant, "fire Darvin" as the rest of the crowd filtered out.
Embiid's half-century takes Knicks-Sixers to 2-1
Joel Embiid's huge 50-point haul breathed fresh life into the Philadelphia 76ers' series with the New York Knicks, bringing the Sixers back to 2-1 after two road losses to start the playoffs.
The 76ers triumphed 125-114 as Embiid became the first player in playoff history to score 50 points on fewer than 20 shots in a game, going 13 of 19 from the floor and making 19 of 21 free throws.
Philadelphia were three down at the half but produced a huge third quarter, Embiid dragging his team into a 98-85 lead with four 3s in that period.
Tyrese Maxey supported Embiid with 25 points and seven assists, after the NBA admitted the officials missed a foul on him in the closing stages of the Sixers' controversial Game 2 loss.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 39 points and 13 assists while Josh Hart tacked on 20 points, but Donte DiVincenzo only had five after hitting the decisive 3-pointer in Game 2.
Cavs suffer worst playoff loss as Magic hit back
The Orlando Magic also hit back after losing the first two games of their first-round series, dealing the Cleveland Cavaliers the heaviest loss in their playoff history on Thursday.
Taking the series back to Kia Center after a pair of road losses, Orlando recorded a 121-83 win behind Paolo Banchero's 31 points, with Jalen Suggs adding 24 for the fifth seeds in the East.
Orlando led by as many as 43 points in the fourth quarter before ultimately settling for a 38-point margin. The Cavs' previous worst playoff loss was a 36-point defeat to the Washington Wizards in 2008.
Franz Wagner tacked on 16 points and eight assists for Orlando, who now have the chance to level the series at home in Game 4 on Sunday.
Cleveland had four players in double figures but none managed more than the 15 put up by both Jarrett Allen and Caris Levert, the visitors shooting a miserable 8 of 34 (23.5 per cent) from the floor.
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