Awesome thread idea @DMN in the House
Here's one of my latest games of BBGM. I did a player challenge - 1984 Bulls with rookie Michael Jordan. The goal was to see if I could eclipse his real life career - I always attempted to compete every single season, MJ started no matter what, and traded anyone who wasn't pulling their weight to get MJ his titles.
Here's how his career accolades shook out vs his real life ones (my game on left his career on right):
Hall of Fame: Yes, in both
Titles: 6 vs 6
MVP: 7 vs 5
Finals MVP: 4 vs 6
Def. Player of the Year: 2 vs 1
Rookie of the Year: Yes, in both
All-NBA: 16 vs 11
All-Defensive: 9 vs 9
All-Rookie: Yes, in both
All-Star MVP: 4 vs 3
All-Star: 16 vs 14
Slam Dunk Contest: 3 vs 2
Scoring Leader: 10 vs 10
Steals Leader: 4 vs 3
Pretty dang comparable actually considering my MJ had 4 extra seasons and about 450 extra games or so.
One of the notable changes though is I won almost all of my titles with MJ when he was very young. My Bulls won in:
84-85
85-86
86-87
87-88
90-91
93-94
As opposed to the real MJ who won his 6 between 90-91 and 97-98 (including the year off between three peats to play baseball).
In terms of regular season stats, here's how the comparison went:
PTS/G: 23.2 vs 30.1
RBD/G: 5.4 vs 6.2
FG%: 50.0 vs 49.7
3P%: 33.5 vs 32.7
FT%: 86.4 vs 83.5
AST/G: 4.4 vs 5.3
TOV/G: 2.3 vs 2.7
STL/G: 1.8 vs 2.3
BLK/G: 0.8 vs 0.8
FOULS/G: 2.2 vs 2.6
Again, considering I had 450 more games and most of those extras being in the decline years, I think that is a pretty good comparison overall!
Here's a brief seasonal recap:
84-85: Signed Larry Bird in the offseason, 63-19 record, swept way to Finals, won title after 7 grueling games with Clyde Drexler's Trail Blazers
85-86: No major roster moves, 65-17 record, breezed way to another title with a playoff record of 15-3
86-87: MJ and Bird continue to develop, 59-23 record, another easy title, walking 15-1 to the trophy
87-88: Kevin Duckworth, who I drafted in 86, cracks starting lineup, 52-30 record, not quite as easy of a title win but still got the job done in 6 vs Mark Aguirre and Mark Jackson's Mavericks
88-89: Added prime Isiah Thomas to the team as its PG. 58-24, headed back to the finals but lost to Magic Johnson's Lakers in 7
89-90: No huge moves, 65-17 record, lost to Sir Charles' 76ers (who was joined by Jeff Hornacek and Don Majerle)
90-91: Bird and IT starting to decline some more, 63-19 record, but took a pretty easy title run beating David Robinson and Reggie Miller's Sonics in 5
91-92: Mostly the same core guys, 58-24, #1 seed again, knocked off in 2nd round in 7 by Boston led by Dikembe Mutombo and Michael Adams
92-93: Core slowly declining, still made #1 seed with 59-23 record, choked in the first round though as Barkley's Sixers - now with Hakeem the Dream - took us out 3-1
93-94: IT dropping big time, picked up Dominique Wilkins, G Bobby Phills made a huge developmental leap. 45-37 record, first time as #4 seed and an underdog, breezed through the playoffs 15-2 to beat the Sonics again to win the title
94-95: Added aging John Stockton to beef up for a run at another trophy, 50-32 record, ironically swept by Toni Kukoc's Hornets in Round 1
95-96: Signed Alonzo Mourning to beef the inside, 50-32 record, taken out in round 1 by Shawn Kemp's Orlando Magic
96-97: Added Dino Radja and Cherokee Parks in a deal for Phills, 43-39 record, Phills gets last laugh by eliminating the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals
97-98: Picked up John Starks and an aging Hakeem as a 42 y/o Bird can't cut it anymore, 37-45 record - first missed playoffs in this run
98-99: Bird still active, drafted Cuttino Mobley 9th overall, 45-37 record gets us back in Playoffs, beaten in Round 1 by the Raptors led by Kerry Kittles
99-00: MJ's last year as an All-Star, Bird finally retires, added Shareef Abdur-Rahim in free agency, drafted Rasho Nesterovic, 45-37 record, this time swept by Donyell Marshall and Jason Terry's Wizards
00-01: MJ regressing in at standard pace, added Chauncey Billups, drafted Marcus Fizer, 49-33 record, made ECF but taken out by the Raptors again, now with Elton Brand
01-02: Drafted Brendan Haywood, team rides strong year from Abdur-Rahim to a 57-25 record and another ECF appearance, lose to 76ers featuring Pau Gasol, Jason Williams, and Steve Nash
02-03: Last year for MJ, big drop from MJ but still have to start him, drafted Reggie Evans, sputtered to a 37-45 record, missed playoffs for only the second time
2003: MJ RETIRES AS A HALL OF FAMER
