NOSEBLEED SPORTS MEDIA
MJ Mondays
NO DEBATE. JUST RECEIPTS.
VOL. 1, NO. 26 · AUGUST 24, 2026 · EVERY MONDAY
THE STAT THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST 01
BARKLEY WAS MVP. JORDAN AVERAGED 41 AGAINST HIM IN THE FINALS.
Jordan vs Barkley — Head-to-Head Finals (1993)
41.0 27.3 Yes
JORDAN PPG BARKLEY PPG BARKLEY MVP THAT YEAR
Charles Barkley won the 1993 NBA MVP award. He was the best regular season player in basketball that
year. Then Jordan averaged 41 points per game against him in the Finals and won the championship. The
gap between regular season MVP and Finals MVP — between Barkley's peak and Jordan's peak — was
13.7 points per game in head-to-head Finals competition. They were close friends who played golf
together regularly. The friendship survived the 1993 Finals. It did not survive Jordan's Hall of Fame
speech in 2009, where he took aim at almost everyone he'd ever competed against.
THE GAME YOU FORGOT 02
Chicago Bulls @ Golden State Warriors 1992-11-24
5 7 18/30 W
POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS FG RESULT
49 On The Road.
1992-93 — THE CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON NOBODY EXPECTED
November 24, 1992. Jordan went to Golden State and scored 49 on 18-of-30 shooting. The 1992-93 Bulls
were chasing a third straight championship — which most people didn't think was possible. Barkley was
having an MVP season in Phoenix. Jordan was answering with 32.6 PPG of his own. The collision course was
set. Jordan's regular season dominance — 49 points on the road against a quality team — was a preview of
what he'd bring to the Finals.
MJ VS TODAY 03
Should Jordan Have Won MVP Over Barkley in 1993?
JORDAN'S 1992-93 BARKLEY'S 1992-93
PPG PPG
CHAMPIONSHIP VS MVP
Yes — 3rd straight Won regular season MVP
FINALS MVP SUNS RECORD
Yes (41 PPG) 62-20
Barkley deserved the 1993 MVP — the Suns went 62-20 and he was the clear best player on the best team
during the regular season. But Jordan's season — 32.6 PPG, scoring title, championship, 41 PPG in the Finals
— was objectively more valuable in hindsight. The MVP is a regular season award. Jordan's 1993 was a full-
season masterpiece.
1993 MVP: right call giving it to Barkley?
YES — SUNS HAD BEST RECORD NO — JORDAN WAS BETTER OVERALL REGULAR SEASON AWARD, SO YES
JORDAN SHOULD HAVE HAD 7+ MVPS
THE COLDEST MJ MOMENT 04
2009 — THE LAST CHAPTER
The Hall of Fame Speech That Ended The
Friendship.
When Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, his speech was less a
celebration and more a competitive autopsy. He called out opponents, coaches, and
friends — including Barkley. The speech revealed that Jordan's competitive fire never
went out, even in retirement. Barkley, who had been a close friend for decades, was
publicly hurt by the tone. The friendship fractured and has never fully recovered. Jordan's
Hall of Fame speech is the most competitive acceptance speech in the history of
professional sports.
I wouldn't want to be his friend because he's competitive. Anything you say, he
uses against you.
— CHARLES BARKLEY, ON JORDAN AFTER THE HOF SPEECH
THE MJ STAT VAULT 05
JORDAN PPG — 1993 FINALS VS PHOENIX
BARKLEY PPG — 1993 FINALS
41.0 Highest Finals scoring average in NBA 27.3
Barkley's average in the Finals was
history. Against the regular season MVP's
excellent. Jordan's was 13.7 points higher.
team.
PHOENIX SUNS RECORD — 1992-93 YEAR JORDAN GAVE THE HOF SPEECH THAT
62-20 Best record in the NBA. Barkley's MVP 2009 ENDED THE BARKLEY FRIENDSHIP
season. Jordan's Bulls beat them in the Competitive to the end. The speech was
Finals anyway. brutal, honest, and vintage Jordan.
JORDAN PPG — 1992-93 REGULAR SEASON
Didn't win MVP. Won scoring title. Won championship. Won Finals MVP at 41 PPG. The MVP that year was a
consolation prize.
THE FORGOTTEN MAN 06
OVERLOOKED · UNDERRATED · DESERVES MORE
Mitch Richmond
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS / SACRAMENTO KINGS · 1988–2002
21.0 PPG CAREER AVERAGE · 5X ALL-STAR · HALL OF FAME 2014
The Hall of Famer Who Never Had A Championship Team
Mitch Richmond averaged 21 points per game for his career, made 5 All-Star teams, and is in the Hall of
Fame. He played 8 seasons in Sacramento — one of the NBA's most isolated markets — and never made the
playoffs until his final seasons. He scored 22,000+ points in near-total obscurity. When the Warriors traded
him to Sacramento in the Rony Seikaly deal, they traded away a franchise player for a reason nobody
remembers.
The Jordan Connection: Richmond's Warriors team (with Hardaway and Mullin) was the most talented Western
Conference team not to win a championship in the early 1990s. When they split up that trio, all three scattered
to different franchises and the window closed.
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.