Would Michael Jordan have won six titles if he played for the Mavericks?

Early years

The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers ruled the NBA when Michael Jordan arrived in 1984. Boston was the defending champion featuring a prime Larry Bird. He was flanked by Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, and Danny Ainge. That group made the finals each of Jordan’s first three years and won one championship.

The Western Conference was dominated by the Lakers led by a prime Magic Johnson. Early on they had an aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plus young James Worthy and Byron Scott. Los Angeles won three of four NBA champions from 1985-1988.

Short of joining one of those teams, I do not think Michael Jordan wins a ring in any of those seasons. MJ heading to Philadelphia would have made it interesting. The Sixers drafted Charles Barkley sixth overall to pair with Julius Erving and Moses Malone. Adding Jordan instead of Barkley makes them a legit contender, but the Celtics dominated them in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1985. That may have been their best chance. Erving retired in 1987 at 36 years old.

Michael Jordan would have had to wait until at least 1989 to win his first championship with the Dallas Mavericks. This is where things get interesting.

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