Chicago Bulls: 3 players that gave Michael Jordan fits

3. Kevin McHale, Power Forward

One of the best Celtics players during their dynasty run of the 1980’s, when they had that great rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers, was Hall-of-Fame forward Kevin McHale. While he was not the only driving force to all of that Celtics success throughout the 1980’s, McHale was a key driver to them on both ends of the floor, especially against the Bulls.

The 6-foot-10 and 210 pound former Celtics Hall-of-Fame power forward McHale gave Jordan fits for most of their matchups during the 1980’s. Jordan held a career regular season record of 14-19 against McHale. And it got even worse for Jordan and the Bulls when they faced McHale and the Celtics in the playoffs. The Celtics owned a spotless 5-0 record with McHale when they faced Jordan and the Bulls.

In the 33 career games where Jordan faced McHale, the latter of the two averaged a solid 20.5 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks. He shot a very efficient 57.5 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, Jordan averaged 33.4 points per game, 5.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, a whopping 2.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks, against McHale in his career. He shot 51.0 percent from the field, a below par 23.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 87.9 percent from the free-throw line.

The seven-time NBA All-Star selection and three-time title holder McHale definitely was a thorn in the side of Jordan in the early years of his career.