Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, and the statistics across the board support the claim. However, while Jordan has recently been marred by controversy amid celebrating his 23XI Racing team’s win at the Daytona 500 NASCAR race, his 63rd birthday is a reason to highlight some of the most profound statistics from his illustrious career.
While the six champions and six Finals MVPs in eight years during the 1990s are perhaps the one stat that best sum up his career overall, Jordan holds the record for the highest-scoring average in NBA history, has won five regular-season MVP awards, and is fifth on the league’s all-time scoring list.
But on his 63rd birthday, perhaps one stat truly shows how dominant Jordan was, not just in his era, but across the entire history of the NBA.
This is one of the craziest NBA stats you’ll ever see
Jordan had four seasons in which he won the league MVP award, scoring title, a championship, and subsequently, the Finals MVP award. A player winning all three, or four, depending on how it is seen, has only happened three other times in history, a short list that features some of the best players the NBA has seen.
Michael Jordan’s Legendary Stat
Jordan won the MVP, scoring title, and Finals in four years: 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998. In the final year, he hit perhaps the most famous shot in NBA history against the Utah Jazz, ending his run with the Chicago Bulls by clinching his sixth championship.
But as mentioned, only three other players have hit those marks in the same season just once. First is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who did it in 1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks. Jabbar had one of the longest careers in NBA history, with the longest span between winning his first and last titles, but only once did he clinch the Finals while winning the MVP and scoring title in the same year.
Another player to reach the dominant feat was Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 with the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the only year of his career in which he won the MVP award, the second and last time he won the scoring title, but the beginning of a three-peat run alongside Kobe Bryant with the Lakers.
Finally, the last player to hit the trifecta mark was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who did it last season. He took home his first MVP award, led the league in scoring with 32.7 points per game, and carried the Thunder to their first championship since moving to Oklahoma City.
Along with winning the three awards, Gilgeous-Alexander’s 2024-25 campaign mirrored that of a few of Jordan’s years in the 1990s, hitting scoring and defensive markers, while also winning the NBA’s top awards that year.
Several other statistics can paint Jordan as the ‘GOAT’ whether it be his nine First-Team All-Defensive Team honors, his Defensive Player of the Year award, ten total scoring titles, regular season, playoffs, and Finals scoring averages, his seemingly insurmountable peak in the 1990s and legendary end to his run with the Bulls, or many other records that he still holds today.
However, the fact that Jordan won the league MVP, scoring title, and Finals in the same year more times than anyone else combined creates a pretty easy argument as to why he is considered the greatest of all time (sorry, LeBron James fans).
Michael Jordan Daytona 500 Controversy
But while he celebrates his 63rd birthday and many look back on his historic career, Jordan is currently dealing with another issue, as it relates to his venture into NASCAR with his 23XI Racing team.
Most recently, Jordan’s team, led by driver Tyler Reddick, won the 2026 Daytona 500 for the first time. While Jordan claimed winning the race felt like winning an NBA championship, he made headlines for his celebrations in victory lane.
Jordan was seen during celebrations pinching the back of Reddick’s son, Beau, multiple times while the team hoisted the trophy. The six-time Finals MVP and now Daytona 500 winner came under serious fire for his actions on social media, but has yet to make a public comment about his actions.
But while many put Jordan on the hot seat for his interaction with Reddick’s son, many have called for reason and common sense, as in a 2024 interview with The Athletic, Jordan said he had a close relationship with Reddick and his son, as many have pointed to Jordan just playing with the kid, as an uncle or close family friend would do.
Many have also claimed Jordan was trying to clear out ice from Reddick’s son’s backside, as amid the celebrations, one video shows Beau wet from either water or champagne from the celebrations.
Regardless, Jordan has been the subject of criticism for the move caught on camera, yet neither he, Reddick, nor 23XI Racing has given a statement about the controversy.
Since retiring from basketball, Jordan has lived a pretty private life, outside of his venture with NASCAR. He and his team recently won a federal antitrust lawsuit against the sport, but his latest controversy has now overshadowed his Daytona 500 win and his birthday.
Wild Michael Jordan Stat Emerges On Birthday Amid Daytona 500 Controversy