Counting Wilt Chamberlain's Steals, Blocks, and Turnovers

Basketball Reference has started listing some game totals for steals, and blocks before they became official NBA statistics.  They actually list Wilt Chamberlain as having 446 blocks for the 1972-73 season.  How accurate is that total?  I can't watch footage from that regular season to know how accurate it is, but I can get some footage from throughout his career to try and see how often he got those stats that weren't kept by the NBA during his career. How often did Chamberlain get steals, or blocks?  How often did he turn the ball over?  I don't want to see highlights.  I want full games.  

There are numerous problems that I ran into.  Finding full games from his career is tough.  I settled on a full quarter for 1 game, and a full half for more than 1.  Another game shows the first 3 quarters, but doesn't show the full 4th quarter.  When it came estimating how much time in a game was shown, or how much Chamberlain played in the footage, one issue was the lack of an onscreen clock.  It was rare for them to put the time remaining on the screen back then, so I found myself depending on the announcer to say how much time was left in a quarter.   I can't see everything, especially with the lower quality of the footage.  In Game 5 of the 1973 Finals, Wilt was given credit for 8 blocks.  While the ending of the game isn't shown, a graphic says that he has 6 blocks, and he picks up another on in the game footage I have, so that would be 7 blocks in the estimated 43 minutes of game time shown, but I only count him as having 4.  I went back, and watched it again, and I still have him with 4 blocks.  I wonder how did they have him with 7 blocks up to that point in the game.  What were the unwritten rules for counting blocks before the NBA made them an official stat?  Only one of these games is from the regular season, so these stats probably don't represent what did in the regular season.  This shows more of what he did in the playoffs against quality opposition.  Playoff game also tend to be played at a slower pace than regular season game. Below I have links for videos, and time stamps.  This video usually come from late in career, while he was with the Lakers.  I still think that relevant since Basketball Reference list Chamberlain with 446 blocks in the 1971-72 season.

1969 NBA Finals game 7  4th quarter    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu5vMfPtbw&t=1690s

7 minutes (estimated)   0 steals   0 blocks  0 turnovers

1973 NBA Finals game 5     Several minutes missing    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wlSbTu0rFQ

Estimated 43 minutes shown   2 steals 2 blocks 8 turnovers

Turnover  (3 second violation) 8:47

Block 22:22

Turnover 23:24

Turnover 26:48

Possible block (not likely). 32:34

Steal 32:27

Block 32:50 

Turnover 39:43 

Turnover 57:52

Turnover 1:06:34

Turnover 1:08:45

Turnover 1:12:03

Possible block 1:23:23

Possible steal 1:27:29

Steal 1:29:25

1971  WCSF  Game 6    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrnGh16z18k

48 minutes   1 steal  4 blocks  1  Possible block   3 turnovers  1 possible turnover

Block  12:35

Block   30:36 (Could have been called goaltending)

Block   56:39

Turnover   57:58

Possible turnover  1:00:07  

Possible block  1:00:46

Turnover  1:08:32

Block  1:22:40

Turnover  1:27:19

Steal  1:31:49

1967  EDF  Game 5   2nd Half  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsYos18Esdo    

24 minutes  1 steal  4 blocks   1 turnover

Turnover   9:31

Block   21:30

Block   30:34

Block   30:36

Block   41:07

Steal   45:27

1973. WCSF. Game 6.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEd5nil-Op0.   48 min 

0 steals 3 blocks 6 turnover

Turnover 23:24

Block 30:37

Turnover 33:55

Turnover 34:11

Block 43:47

Turnover 46:40

Turnover 59:07

Block 1:19:53

Turnover 1:27:04

1972 Regular Season at Milwaukee   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J__Hnfnu8Fc&t=50s. 

48 minutes  3 steals 5 blocks 4 Turnover 1 possible turnover

4:22  West throws pass to high.  While Wilt stepped out of bounds with the ball, it's hard to blame him

Stl 6:25

Turnover 9:59

Block 12:10

Block 17:12

Possible Turnover 29:31

Turnover 39:12

Block 39:37 

Block 44:51

Block 52:27

53:27  Keith Jackson gives Wilt credit for a blocked shot that goes over his hand

Turnover 54:31

Steal 1:00:00

Turnover 1:08:43

Steal 1:13:41

Higher quality video of Milwaukee game.  Missing a small bit of the game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qe--XpXEp4y

1970 NBA Finals Game 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiWzpL_bxKM

48 minutes  0 steals 1 block 5 turnovers

Turnover  19:17

Turnover 32:15

Turnover 39:55

Turnover 1:08:42

Turnover 1:23:32

Blk 1:26:42

1964  NBA Finals  Game 4  

24 minutes   0 steals  0 block  2 Turnovers  1 possible block  1 possible turnover

Turnover 4:35

Turnover  6:07

Possible Block  16:36

Possible Turnover 17:55

290 minutes   7 steals   19 blocks  2 possible blocks   29 turnovers  3 possible turnovers

The thing that stands out to me are turnover numbers.  Most of the footage is from late in his career when he didn't touch the ball that much.  In his peak scoring years, he likely turned the ball over more than anyone else in NBA history.  He probably had numerous seasons with more turnovers that the official NBA record held by James Harden.  This is an ongoing project.  I would like to be able to look at other games. I may at some point try to come with estimates for steals, and blocks per 100 possessions in his footage.  I may also factor in field goals attempts, and assists to try to come up with an estimate for how often he would've turned the ball over.

 

Bill Belichick Not Voted Into Hall of Fame

 Bill Belichick seemed like a shoo-in first ballot Hall of Famer.  6 Super Bowl as head coach, and 2 as a defensive coordinator.  So many, including me, were shocked to find out that he won't get in Hall this year.  How is it that the man considered by many as the greatest coach of all time wasn't voted in?

There have seen several factors that have been brought up as to why.

The Post Tom Brady Narrative-This is interesting.  For years many tried to attribute Tom Brady's success to the fact that he was coach by Bill Belichick.  That narrative has turned around recently.  People have looked at the fact that Belichick has a losing record as a head coach without Brady.  Brady's Super Bowl win with Tampa Bay also added to the narrative. I don't think this is a good enough reason for him not to be voted in.  Brady was not a one man team, he had great players around him and Belichick has to be given a lot of credit for that.  Belichick also had some belief in Tom Brady, even if it took the Pats until the 6th round to draft him.  Bill also has two rings as a defensive coordinator, so he is a defensive genius.  

Robert Craft-It's no secret that Belichick and Robert Craft had a falling out.  There is some speculation that voters may have felt like they had to choose one or the other to prevent both being inducted the same year.  

SpyGate-DefelateGate-Here comes the controversy.  SpyGate, and DeflateGate were mentioned in a discussion among voters. https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/2026/01/28/sports-world-stunned-Bill-Belichick-snub-HOF/7201769601659/  Maybe some felt that they needed to send him a message, and make him pay for that.  Though I wonder would it be just Belichick who would pay for it.  I don't expect for Tom Brady not to get voted in on the first ballot due to DeflateGate.  

Hopefully he'll get in next year.  

Jordan 87-88 Steals, and Blocks Counting

Here is where I'll keep count of steals and blocks for Michael Jordan in the home games of the 1987-88 season.  This will updated as I find different games, and make up my mind on different plays.  The numbers in parenthesis represent the steals, and blocks he was given credit for in each game.

 12/12/87 vs Houston   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHOdUzx6Dt0     starts a few min in    

5 steals  5 blocks  1 possible block   (5 steals - 5 blocks)

steal  16:51

block  25:42

block  29:06

steal  30:20

possible block 1:02:42

block 1:04:36

steal  1:28:22

block 1:29:10

block  1:40:49

steal  2:08:12

steal  2:09:38

2/26/88 vs Portland  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2xz5fk5Yj8  

3 steals   3 blocks    (2 steals - 3 blocks)

block 17:25

steal 23:31

block  56:55

steal  1:07:20

block  1:15:49

steal  1:21:40

11/7/87 vs Philadelphia   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-_cKG-xztk  

5 steals  3 blocks  1 possible steal   (6 steals-4 blocks)

steal 16:29

steal  17:22

steal  17:48 

possible steal 31:37 

deflection sets up turnover 32:34

steal  37:45

steal  38:40

block  44:12

block  50:06 

block 1:23:16 block called by announcer, not shown on screen.  Replay of the block shown at 1:23:41

12/17/87 vs Cleveland    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o40ZiQ8Ab4&t=1s  

2 steals 1 block  1 possible block  (4 steals - 1 block)

block 34:20

35:50  Paxson's steal Jordan gets a hand on it 

possible block, not likely 37:19

steal 45:11 

steal 47:38

4/24/88 vs Boston    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hvbEAPmsZg  

1 steal  1 block   (1 steal-1 block)

block  13:03

steal  38:11

12/22/87  vs Dallas  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAmDezAwitQ 

2 steals  2  blocks  2 possible blocks  (4 steals - 2 blocks)   

possible block  13:23  

possible block  15:40 

block  20:20

steal  31:16

block  55:27

steal  1:01:23

3/10/88 vs Los Angeles    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=_2GMwfS8qC8  

3 steals  1 possible block  (3 steals - 1 block)

steal  8:08

steal  42:00

possible block  55:34

steal  1:10:00

3/18/88 vs Boston   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf8LprvGLjo   

3 steals  2 possible steals  1 block   (5 steals - 1 block )

steal  15:13

steal  16:31

block  23:09

possible steal  47:10  

steal  1:03:40

possible steal 1:08:02

1/7/88 vs Denver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuu94rPzrR0&list=PLh5Jhwz037ZwokITu87Gp465RGq0zI31-&index=60

6 steals 3 blocks 1 possible steal 1 possible block  (6 steals, 4 blocks)

Possible Block 13:08  Not likely

Steal 13:17  

Steal 23:26  Could be a block or steal

Steal 47:05  Jordan tips the ball from Fat Lever.  Rory Sparrow gets it, and accid,entally throws it back to Lever

Steal 52:54

Steal 54:57  Jordan tips the ball from Fat Lever.  Mike Brown dives and gets the ball

Block 59:12

Steal 1:00:06

Possible Steal 1:10:16    Ball tipped by someone, likely not Jordan, and if he did touch it, it certainly wasn't controlled.

Block 1:17:30

Block 1:21:12

vs Boston 1/12/88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lan3kryPA94

3 steals 1 block  1 possible steal  (3 steals  1 block)

Steal 7:08

Steal  21:45

Block 46:04

Possible Steal 1:34:27

Steal  2:01:47

vs Atlanta 2/15/88  

Start of game  Michael Jordan vs Dominique Wilkins first game after the 1988 Dunk Contes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnewnVPh0cE&t=5356s

2 steals 1 block  1 possible steal  1 possible block  (5 steals, 2 blocks)

Possible Block 2:36

Steal 3:24

8:24-Not a steal, but worth mentioning.  Mike Brown deflects the pass, and Jordan and Cliff

Levingston both have the ball, when a jump ball is called.  Levingston wins the jump ball

Block-1:14:29

Possible Steal 1:22:06

Steal 1:24:17

vs Indiana  1/5/88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OSOX67wpZk

2 steals 1 block  2 possible steals 1 possible block  (4 steals, 2 blocks) 

possible steal 5:23

block 8:18

block 20:18 

possible steal 59:32

steal 1:11:55

steal 1:15:14

vs Seattle  2/23/88   Videos missing most of overtime

4 steals, 2 blocks (4 steals, 2 blocks)   

First Half  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_eoEr_ik0o

block 6:59 

steal 19:46

steal 45:38

2nd Half https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efGdFMLCnIw&t=3732s

steal 42:09

block 52:20 

Steal in overtime: Michael Jordan´s breakaway tomahawk vs Seattle 87-88 season.

vs Detroit  1/16/88

1988 01 16 Chicago Bulls vs Detroit Pistons, massive brawl,Jordan with triple double.

2 Steals   4 Blocks  1 possible block   (4 steals,  4 blocks)

Block  4:59

Steal  16:18

Steal  53:38

Block 53:53

Block 55:45

Possible Block  1:18:00

Block  1:22:14

vs Cleveland  3/15/88

1988 03 15 Chicago Bulls VS Cleveland Cavaliers

4 Steals  0 blocks    (2 steals, 1 block)

Steal 12:47

Steal 38:55

Steal 59:19

Steal 1:05:49

vs New York   1/30/88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fhnSgts5ng

2 steals  4 blocks  (2 steals 5 blocks)

Steal 5:40

Block  12:49

Block 51:40

Steal 1:06:22

Block 1:09:19

Block 1:19:22

                                Steals    Blocks

Box Score                60         38

Counted by me        50          33

Other Possible           7           8

Others Involved in     2           0

Max. Counted           59          41

Continuation Of Counting Michael Jordan's Steals And Blocks in 1987-88 Home Games

I some more of Michael Jordan's full home games from the 1987-88 season to add to the 8 that I already counted steals, and blocks from.  A few of these videos have bad image quality, which makes it tough to count blocks and steals.  Due to the grainy quality of some of the videos, I will give the score keeper the benefit of the doubt on blocked shots.  

The numbers in parenthesis represent Jordan's official number of steals and blocks.

1/7/88 vs Denver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuu94rPzrR0&list=PLh5Jhwz037ZwokITu87Gp465RGq0zI31-&index=60

6 steals 3 blocks 1 possible steal 1 possible block  (6 steals, 4 blocks)

Possible Block 13:08  Not likely

Steal 13:17  

Steal 23:26  Could be a block or steal

Steal 47:05  Jordan tips the ball from Fat Lever.  Rory Sparrow gets it, and accid,entally throws it back to Lever

Steal 52:54

Steal 54:57  Jordan tips the ball from Fat Lever.  Mike Brown dives and gets the ball

Block 59:12

Steal 1:00:06

Possible Steal 1:10:16    Ball tipped by someone, likely not Jordan, and if he did touch it, it certainly wasn't controlled.

Block 1:17:30

Block 1:21:12

vs Boston 1/12/88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lan3kryPA94

2 steals 1 block  1 possible steal  (3 steals  1 block)

Steal  21:45

Block 46:04

Possible Steal 1:34:27

Steal  2:01:47

vs Atlanta 2/15/88  

Start of game  Michael Jordan vs Dominique Wilkins first game after the 1988 Dunk Contes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnewnVPh0cE&t=5356s

2 steals 1 block  1 possible steal  1 possible block  (5 steals, 2 blocks)

Possible Block 2:36

Steal 3:24

8:24-Not a steal, but worth mentioning.  Mike Brown deflects the pass, and Jordan and Cliff

Levingston both have the ball, when a jump ball is called.  Levingston wins the jump ball

Block-1:14:29

Possible Steal 1:22:06

Steal 1:24:17

vs Indiana  1/5/88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OSOX67wpZk

2 steals 1 block  2 possible steals 1 possible block  (4 steals, 2 blocks) 

possible steal 5:23

block 8:18

block 20:18 

possible steal 59:32

steal 1:11:55

steal 1:15:14

vs Seattle  2/23/88   Videos missing most of overtime

4 steals, 2 blocks (4 steals, 2 blocks)   

First Half  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_eoEr_ik0o

block 6:59 

steal 19:46

steal 45:38

2nd Half https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efGdFMLCnIw&t=3732s

steal 42:09

block 52:20 

Steal in overtime: Michael Jordan´s breakaway tomahawk vs Seattle 87-88 season.

                               Steals     Blocks

Box Score                 52          29

Counted by me         40          25

Other Possible           8           7

Others Involved in     2           0

Max. Counted           50         32

What's Up With The NBA: Why So Many Don't Like The League

 The NBA's popularity if down.  That one is obvious.  Their ratings have taken a big hit than NFL's, or MLB's in recent years.  Why it is that the league's popularity is has taken such a big hit.  Some people are arguing that it's the Inside the NBA show, on TNT, and how they talk down on the modern game.  Thankfully most people don't believe this, and there are obviously others things that have a much bigger impact on the game's popularity.  Sports fan nowadays just don't like the NBA the way they used to, and if anything the cast of Inside the NBA are just stating what most of the public thinks about the league.  Let's go through some reasons that the league's popularity is low.

3 Point Shooting

It's understandable why players are taking so many three point shots.  It counts for an extra point, and many players are good enough at it to make it a valuable asset.  The problem is that it makes the 3 point shot, once something special, and makes it routine.  The 3 point attempt rates had stagnated before this season with rates being around 39-40 percent in the past 4 seasons before this one, but rates have gone up to over 42% so far this season.

Load Management

With so many players missing games for load management, no wonder fans think regular season games aren't that important.  Some players obviously don't think they are that important.  This has done more to send a message to fans than any talk show has.

Lack  of Defense/Competetivness

When players aren't missing games due to load management they tend to play games with very little intensity.  You don't sense much animosity between different teams, and teams don't go out of their way to stop star players from doing their thing.  Part of that is rule changes meant to help offenses.  Among those are not allowing hand checking, or forearm checking, and taking away the defensive 3 seconds, but a bigger part of it is that players seem to be resting through much of the regular season, saving their intense play for the playoffs.  This goes back to load management.  With NBA having such a long schedule and then having the play in games added in, talented teams realize they don't need to try that hard in the regular season, and can save themselves for the playoffs.

Social Justice

The NBA has irritated many people, mostly white, with their focus on social justice.  They annoyed a good portion of their old fanbase, as players are eager to involve politics into their interviews, and personal image.  The NFL has this same issue, but they haven't taken the popularity hit the NBA has.

A look at Michael Jordan's Steals, and Blocks From 1987-88 Home Games

There has been a lot of talk about Jordan having inflated home stats from the 1987-88 season in the steals, and blocks category, so I wanted to watch the games for myself.  It wasn't as easy as I thought to get full home games from that regular season, and

 watching them to count steals, and blocks wasn't as easy task.  So far I've got 8 of the that were at least close to full games.  The broadcast of the game vs Houston starts a little late, but I found 5 steals, and 5 blocks from Jordan in that game.  Here is a list of the games with links, and timestamps.  Possible steals are mostly plays in which Jordan played a role in a steal, but I didn't give him credit for it.  One of them is a play in which Jerome Kersey got the ball, and Jordan took it from him, but Kersey didn't establish possession of the ball.  In parenthesis are the steals, and blocks Jordan got credit for in the box score.

 

12/12/87 vs Houston   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHOdUzx6Dt0     starts a few min in    

5 steals  5 blocks  1 possible block   (5 steals - 5 blocks)

steal  16:51

block  25:42

block  29:06

steal  30:20

possible block 1:02:42

block 1:04:36

steal  1:28:22

block 1:29:10

block  1:40:49

steal  2:08:12

steal  2:09:38

2/26/88 vs Portland  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2xz5fk5Yj8  

2 steals   3 blocks  1 possible steal  (2 steals - 3 blocks)

block 17:25

possible steal 23:31

block  56:55

steal  1:07:20

block  1:15:49

steal  1:21:40

11/7/87 vs Philadelphia   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-_cKG-xztk  

5 steals  3 blocks  1 possible steal   (6 steals-4 blocks)

steal 16:29

steal  17:22

steal  17:48 

possible steal 31:37 

deflection sets up turnover 32:34

steal  37:45

steal  38:40

block  44:12

block  50:06 

block 1:23:16 block called by announcer, not shown on screen.  Replay of the block shown at 1:23:41

12/17/87 vs Cleveland    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o40ZiQ8Ab4&t=1s  

2 steals 1 block  1 possible block  (4 steals - 1 block)

block 34:20

35:50  Paxson's steal Jordan gets a hand on it 

possible block, not likely 37:19

steal 45:11 

steal 47:38

4/24/88 vs Boston    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hvbEAPmsZg  

1 steal  1 block   (1 steal-1 block)

block  13:03

steal  38:11

12/22/87  vs Dallas  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAmDezAwitQ 

2 steals  2  blocks  2 possible blocks  (4 steals - 2 blocks)   

possible block  13:23  

possible block  15:40 

block  20:20

steal  31:16

block  55:27

steal  1:01:23

3/10/88 vs Los Angeles    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=_2GMwfS8qC8  

3 steals  1 possible block  (3 steals - 1 block)

steal  8:08

steal  42:00

possible block  55:34

steal  1:10:00

3/18/88 vs Boston   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf8LprvGLjo   

3 steals  2 possible steals  1 block   (5 steals - 1 block )

steal  15:13

steal  16:31

block  23:09

possible steal  47:10  

steal  1:03:40

possible steal 1:08:02

Jordan got credit for 25 steals, and 13 blocks not counting the Houston game, and in those I counted 19 steals, 11 blocks, with 3 possible steals, and 4 possible blocks 

Counting the game against Houston he got credit for 30 steals,  and 18 blocks.  I gave him credit for  24 steals,  16 blocks, with 3 possible steals,  5 possible blocks, 1 slight deflection that caused a steal, and one steal that was clearly John Paxson's but Jordan did get a hand on it.

                                Steals     Blocks

Box Score                 30          18

Counted by me         24          16

Other Possible           3           5

Others Involved in     2           0

Max. Counted          29          21

Blocks are tough thing to catch sometimes when watching lower quality video, so Jordan is close enough in blocks, especially when you count those other plays in which I couldn't tell if he blocked a shot.  He probably got proper credit for blocks.  Steals is a subjective thing. When 1 player makes the deflection, and someone else gets the ball, who gets the steal?  According to what I saw, and read if the deflection is a controlled deflection away from the opposing player, and/or to a teammate, then the player that makes the deflection should get credit for the steal.  It's still confusing as to what exactly makes a controlled deflection.  What if the deflection isn't controlled but teammates who gets the ball does little outside of just catching it?  Add that to confusion over whether so swats are strips, or blocks, and it makes for a tough stat to keep track of.    That was the case in the Mavericks game.  I gave Jordan credit for 2 steals, and 2 blocks, with two possible blocks.  If I were to assume those possible blocks were blocks, that makes for 2 steals, and 4 blocks, but the box score has Jordan with 4 steals, and 2 blocks.  I think that a couple of those plays that I gave Jordan blocks on were counted as steals.  I gave Jordan credit for 80% of the steals he got credit for, with 5 additional plays, but I don't expect to catch everything.  If anything, Jordan could've been given some bias when it came to steals in played a role in, whether he, or a teammate, made the deflection.  I don't believe that Jordan was routinely given credit for steals on turnovers such as shot clock violations of the balls out of bounds off of a defender.  8 out 41 games is a small sample size.  I consider this study unfinished.

For further confusion

Steals - NBA.com: Jr. NBA

Steal, credited to defender who deflects the ball away from opponent | NBA Video Rulebook

Jordan vs Havlicek

The Michael Jordan-John Havlicek comparison has been spreading quickly on social media. The meme list their career finals record, season played, points, rebounds, and assists. I guess the point being that if Jordan's numbers aren't that much greater than this white guy, who isn't thought to be in the same league as him, then that is a knock on his greatness. Havlicek had a 8-0 Finals record, 16 seasons played 26395 points, 8044 rebounds, and 6114 assists. Jordan had a 6-0 Finals record, 15 seasons played 32292 points, 6672 rebounds, and 5633 assists. There are numerous problems with this comparison. For one Havlicek was a great player, though he wasn't on Jordan's level. Another issue is the fact that these numbers are listed out of context. Havlicek played as part of a dynasty in Boston. The Celtics won 4 straight championships, and 5 out of the prior 6 before he joined them. Bill Russell was the key to those teams. While Havlicek won two without Russell, they came with another great big man, in Dave Cowens, and the team didn't have nearly the same dominance after Russell retired. Havlicek may have been the best player on 1 of the 8 championship teams he played on, and you could argue none. Jordan, on the other hand, joined a team that was a bad team before he joined. While he got help later on, he was clearly the best player on all 6 of his teams' championship seasons. Jordan played 1072 games to Havlicek's 1270, and per game averages are clearly on the side of Jordan. Jordan also played only the last 17 games of the 1994-95 season as he was retired for most of the season, so the 15 seasons is deceiving. Then there are the individual numbers, which don't look at the differences in the eras, and teams they played for. Havlicek played in an era of much faster paces, and lower efficiency. I estimate that Havlicek had a career pace of 116.0 possessions per 48, compared to only 93.6 for Jordan. What would Havlicek's numbers look like if I adjusted for pace, and league per 100 possession averages? I've done some math to come up with estimates of his numbers if his team played at the same pace as Jordan's, in a league with the same per 100 possessions averages for points, rebounds, and assists.  This isn't factoring in games played or minutes played, or even seasons played.  Here's the comparison

                        Havlicek Adj.          Jordan 

Points               23504                      32292

Rebounds          6144                        6672

Assists              5960                        5633

When factoring in games played, or minutes played the adjusted stats are clearly in Jordan's favor.  The stats are already in his favor, when comparing his stats to Havlicek's career numbers, but the adjusted numbers make the comparison seem ridiculous.  

Some other things to factor in  

Havlicek was slightly below league average in true shooting percentage, at 49.2%, compared to the league average of 49.8%.  Jordan at 56.9% was above his league average of 53.4%.  

Basketball Reference only has rebound percent starting with Havlicek's 9th season, and his percentage is 7.4 for the last 8 seasons of his career.  Jordan's averages at the end of his career are consistent with his career rebound percentage of 9.4.  In his last 8 seasons his rebound % was 9.5.  Assists % isn't a good stat to compare, as standards for what was an assist were tougher in Havlicek's career.     Steals and blocks were only counted in Havlicek's last 5 seasons, when he was past his prime.  For what it's worth Jordan in his last 5 season was better at getting steals, and blocks than Havlicek in his last 5 seasons.