1. Alonzo Mourning, Center
An underrated opponent of Jordan and the Bulls in the 1990’s was the Miami Heat. They had plenty of talent, and just never were really able to get over the hump until the following decade. But it wasn’t for lack of trying between the likes of guard Tim Hardaway and big man Alonzo Mourning.
But Mourning did get the lone NBA Championship of his career with the Heat in the 2006 finals. That was when superstar big man Shaquille O’Neal and eventual Hall-of-Fame shooting guard Dwyane Wade also got titles of their own, leading the way for the Heat. Mourning was really aging at that point too.
However, Mourning was still a seven-time All-Star selection, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and two-time All-NBA Team selection. He was closer to gaining the edge over Jordan in the regular season than he was in the playoffs. Jordan held a career regular season record of 12-8 over Mourning. But in the playoffs he held a record of 10-2 against Mourning.
Mourning averaged 18.3 points per game, 9.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.5 steals, and 2.4 blocks. But Jordan still averaged just shy of 31 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks. The per game averages for Jordan against Mourning weren’t great in the playoffs since one of the series was just coming back from his stint playing baseball in 1995.