As well documented in the Last Dance, it took Michael Jordan a while before he ascended to the top of the NBA mountain.
The Detroit Pistons, led by Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, beat Jordan up for years before he finally bested them in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.
Dumars is tied for the most games played against Jordan and while the Pistons beat MJ when it counted, Jordan and the Bulls got the last laugh. In 70 career games against the Pistons and Joe D, Jordan holds a 52.9% winning percentage.
Jordan's other biggest foe was Patrick Ewing who also faced his Airness 70 times. Ewing, however, didn't fare very well as MJ won 70.0 percent of his games against the Knick legend.
There are countless Hall of Famers who fell victim to Jordan at the peak of his powers. Many of whom are ringless because MJ was standing in their way, but what about the ones Jordan didn't get? Is there a list of guys even MJ couldn't beat? The answer is yes, 76 of them.
That's 76 men who can brag to anyone who'll listen that Michael never got them, not one time.
We present to you the Unbeata-BULLS.
Bobby Jones tops the list going a perfect 6-0 against Michael. A fellow Tar Heel, Jones' resume features an NBA title in 1983, 11 all-defensive team appearances, sixth man of the year in 1983, five all-star appearances and all-NBA in 1976. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2019.
In head to head games against MJ, Jones' stats don't come close.
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Jones | 6 | 19.0 | 2.7 | 5.0 | .533 | 0.0 | 0.2 | .000 | 3.5 | 4.0 | .875 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 8.8 |
| Michael Jordan | 6 | 33.8 | 8.3 | 17.2 | .485 | 0.2 | 1.0 | .167 | 8.3 | 9.3 | .893 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 25.2 |
His best game came in April of 1985 as his 76ers narrowly beat Jordan's Bulls. Jones came off the bench finishing with 17 points and three steals while shooting 5-for-7 from the field in the win. Jordan, meanwhile, scored a game-high 40 points on 62% from the field.
Dirk Nowitzki may have dominated Wizards' MJ the most on the list, going a perfect 3-0 while putting up some eye-popping numbers in the process.
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3 | 48.4 | 9.0 | 20.0 | .450 | 2.0 | 5.0 | .400 | 7.3 | 8.0 | .917 | 13.0 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 27.3 |
| Michael Jordan | 3 | 38.4 | 7.7 | 18.3 | .418 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.000 | 6.3 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 3.7 | 17.7 |
To many, both Jason Richardson and Desmond Mason's claims to fame might be their slam dunk championships but you can also add 'never beaten by Michael Jordan' to their resumes. Both Richardson and Mason hold 3-0 records over MJ.
There's a good chance that if MJ and Gilbert Arenas were ever in the same room, Jordan would have to hear about Arenas' unblemished record against him. Arenas beat Jordan the only two times he faced him, dropping 41 points in one of the games which was his career-high at the time.
Perhaps the most famous name on the list is Jordan's Hall of Fame sidekick, Scottie Pippen. After years of going at each other in practice, the two finally squared off in 2002, both well past their primes.
Both Pippen and Jordan finished with 14 points, but Pippen, who played in Jordan's shadow much of his illustrious career, got the all-important win. You know that bothers Jordan deep down inside.
Here's the complete list of 76 players who never lost to Michael Jordan:
| Opponent | Games | Wins | Losses | |
| 1 | Bobby Jones | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Greg Buckner | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | John Salmons | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Rasho Nesterović | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Wally Szczerbiak | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Raef LaFrentz | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Marc Jackson | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Dirk Nowitzki | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | George Johnson | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | Mark Madsen | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | Perry Moss | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Desmond Mason | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | Mehmet Okur | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 | Art Long | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 15 | Antawn Jamison | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 16 | Jason Richardson | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | Troy Murphy | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 18 | Loren Woods | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 | Tamar Slay | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Lewis Lloyd | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Lionel Hollins | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Carey Scurry | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Terence Morris | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | Sam Williams | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Maurice Evans | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 | Shelton Jones | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | Mike Dunleavy | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 28 | Ryan Humphrey | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Jeff Trepagnier | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Felipe López | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 | Damon Jones | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 32 | Efthimis Rentzias | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Dan Dickau | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 34 | Gilbert Arenas | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Rick Brunson | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Rich Kelley | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 37 | Jeff Wilkins | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 38 | Willie White | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Scottie Pippen | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Sean Marks | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 41 | Michael Brooks | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 42 | Byron Dinkins | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | Steve Hayes | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 44 | Mitch Kupchak* | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 45 | Predrag Savović | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 46 | Rusty LaRue | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 47 | Kenton Edelin | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 48 | Larry Hughes | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 49 | Mikki Moore | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 50 | Adam Harrington | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 | Samuel Dalembert | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 52 | Charles Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 53 | Calvin Booth | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 54 | Clinton Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 55 | Chris Anstey | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 56 | Ansu Sesay | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 57 | Lorenzo Charles | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 58 | Ronnie Lester | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 59 | Jeff Cook | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 60 | Billy Paultz* | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 61 | Joe Kopicki | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 62 | Frank Williams | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 63 | José Ortiz | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 64 | Pepe Sánchez | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 65 | Cedric Henderson | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 66 | Larry Robinson | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 67 | Qyntel Woods | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 68 | Primož Brezec | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 69 | Igor Rakočević | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 70 | Dan Langhi | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 71 | Donald Whiteside | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 72 | Duane Cooper | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 | Lorenzo Romar | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 74 | Stanley Brundy | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 75 | Eric Johnson | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 76 | Quincy Lewis | 1 | 0 | 1 |
The views expressed here do not represent those of the NBA or its clubs.