NOSEBLEED SPORTS MEDIA
MJ Mondays
NO DEBATE. JUST RECEIPTS.
VOL. 1, NO. 9 · APRIL 27, 2026 · EVERY MONDAY
THE STAT THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST 01
28.2 PPG AS A ROOKIE. HIS THIRD NBA GAME: 45 POINTS.
Rookie Year Stats vs Modern Rookie Classes
MICHAEL JORDAN '84-85 LEBRON JAMES '03-04 LUKA DONCIC '18-19
Jordan's first NBA season, 1984-85, he averaged 28.2 points per game as a 21-year-old rookie. He scored
45 points in his third NBA game — against San Antonio — and never stopped. He won Rookie of the Year.
He also made the All-Star team as a rookie, which the veteran players resented so deeply they conspired
in that game to freeze him out of the ball. He still scored 22. The rookie year set the template for
everything that followed: exceptional production, immediate impact, no adjustment period.
THE GAME YOU FORGOT 02
Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs 1984-11-13
10 4 18/27 W
POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS FG RESULT
Welcome To The League.
THIRD GAME. 45 POINTS. STATEMENT MADE.
November 13, 1984. Jordan's third NBA game. He scored 45 points on the San Antonio Spurs on 18-of-27
shooting. He was 21 years old. He grabbed 10 rebounds. The Spurs had George Gervin and a veteran team
that had been in the league for years. Jordan hadn't been in the league for weeks. The NBA hadn't quite
processed what was coming yet. By the time they did, it was too late.
MJ VS TODAY 03
Best Rookie Seasons In NBA History
JORDAN — 1984-85 MODERN ROOKIE CLASSES
PPG VICTOR WEMBANYAMA
28.2 21.4 PPG
AWARDS VS PAOLO BANCHERO
ROY + All-Star 20.0 PPG
3RD GAME LEBRON JAMES
45pts 20.9 PPG
Jordan's rookie season is the highest-scoring debut in NBA history for a guard — 28.2 PPG. The modern game
produces better analytics but not better rookie scorers at that volume. Wembanyama at 7-foot-4 is the most
talented physical specimen since Kareem. Jordan as a 21-year-old guard was already putting up numbers
nobody else has matched as a rookie.
Best rookie season of all time?
JORDAN '84-85 WILT '59-60 OSCAR ROBERTSON '60-61 LEBRON '03-04
THE COLDEST MJ MOMENT 04
THE MOMENT THAT LIT THE FUSE
The All-Star Freeze-Out.
At the 1985 All-Star Game, veteran players including Isiah Thomas orchestrated what's
now called 'the freeze-out' — refusing to pass Jordan the ball to humble the hyped rookie.
Jordan scored 7 points in limited touches, realized what was happening, and left the game
furious. He spent the next offseason rebuilding his body, his game, and his mentality
specifically around proving those veterans wrong. The freeze-out didn't stop him. It
accelerated him.
They tried to freeze me out. I came back with interest.
— MICHAEL JORDAN, ON THE 1985 ALL-STAR GAME
THE MJ STAT VAULT 05
PPG — ROOKIE SEASON (1984-85) POINTS IN HIS 3RD NBA GAME
Highest rookie scoring average for a Against San Antonio. As a rookie. The
guard in NBA history. He was 21 years old. league's welcome party for Jordan.
AIR JORDANS RELEASED IN HIS ROOKIE
JORDAN'S JERSEY NUMBER CHOSEN YEAR
He wore 45 in college (his brother's Nike released the Air Jordan 1 during his
number +1). He chose 23 in the NBA rookie season. The shoe was banned by
because he wanted to be at least half as the NBA for violating uniform color rules.
good as his brother. True story. Nike paid the $5,000 per game fine.
Jordan wore them anyway.
1985 YEAR JORDAN WON ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Unanimous. The 28.2 PPG made it a formality.
THE FORGOTTEN MAN 06
OVERLOOKED · UNDERRATED · DESERVES MORE
Bill Cartwright
NEW YORK KNICKS / CHICAGO BULLS · 1979–1995
7.9 PPG · 5.3 RPG — QUIET, PHYSICAL, ESSENTIAL
The Center Of The First Three-Peat Nobody Mentions
Bill Cartwright was the starting center for all three of the Bulls' first championships. He was 33 years old in
the 1991 Finals. Slow, deliberate, physical — he set the screens that freed Jordan, absorbed punishment in
the post so Pippen and Jordan could freelance on the perimeter. Derided as a non-athlete by critics, he was
the foundational big man of a dynasty. Three rings. Zero recognition.
The Jordan Connection: Jordan famously disliked Cartwright early in his career — thought he was too old and
too slow. Phil Jackson made Jordan see that Cartwright's toughness and positioning was the difference
between a good team and a championship team.
Who's Your Forgotten Man?
Reply with a player who deserves more credit. Best answer gets featured next Monday.
MJ MONDAYS The Jordan Era · 1984–2003
Every Monday. No exceptions.