What positions did Michael Jordan play? Exploring 6x NBA champion’s stats based on his role

Michael Jordan is considered by many as the greatest player of all time or the G.O.A.T. Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA, the majority of it for the Chicago Bulls. He won six NBA championships and mainly played shooting guard for most of his career.

But which other positions did MJ play? What are his stats in these positions? As mentioned above, Jordan played shooting guard for 13 years. He averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He shot 50.5% from the field, 33.2% from beyond the arc and 83.8% from the free throw line.

Jordan was at his best at shooting guard and won all of his important accolades playing the position. He won five NBA MVP trophies, six NBA championships and six NBA Finals MVP awards as a shooting guard.

Michael Jordan exclusively played small forward when he returned from his second retirement to play for the Washington Wizards. Jordan averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game in two seasons at the Capitol.

"His Airness" lost some of his athletic ability and was no longer the player he once was. His body was breaking down and was hampered by a knee injury in the 2001-02 season. He did manage to play all 82 games in his final season, averaging 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals.

Nevertheless, Jordan was really effective as a small forward and could have played the position at other times in his career. He would have been a small forward as well if he played in today's NBA.

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Michael Jordan also played point guard at one point in his career

In addition to shooting guard and small forward, Michael Jordan played point guard for a brief period during the 1988-89 NBA season. The Chicago Bulls were on pace to have a worse record than the previous year, so Jordan and head coach Doug Collins experimented with their lineup.

Jordan played as a point guard from March 11, 1989 until the end of the regular season. He had 15 assists in his first game as a playmaker then followed it up with a triple-double performance of 21 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. He averaged 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 2.4 steals in 24 games as a point guard.

If MJ played more point guard, he could have averaged a triple-double in a season. However, Jordan was a born scorer and it would not have been a good idea to turn him into a playmaker for the rest of his career.

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