Forgotten NBA star who was better than Michael Jordan and led Bulls in scoring faded into basketball obscurity

May 18, 2026 - 13:45

Michael Jordan is the greatest player in Chicago Bulls history.

But there was a time when the GOAT of the NBA wasn’t even the best player on his team.

Orlando Woolridge had serious hops and was a big scorer for the Chicago Bulls

Who was Orlando Woolridge and what are his NBA stats?

Just like the development of Larry Bird’s rivalry with Magic Johnson in the glory days of the Boston Celtics vs the Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan initially had to find his way in the NBA.

He stunned the league as a rookie out of North Carolina, winning Rookie of the Year and making the All-Star team, while averaging a team-high 28.2 points and playing in all 82 games.

But there was another talented scorer on the Bulls when Jordan was in his early 20s.

Orlando Woolridge had a stellar college career at Notre Dame — including an NCAA Final Four run and a big win over Ralph Sampson’s No. 1 Virginia team — and was the No. 6 overall pick of the 1981 NBA Draft.

He stood 6ft 9in, weighed 215lb, and averaged 16.5 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting an impressive 58 percent from the field in 1982-83.

As Jordan entered his second year in the pros, Woolridge was coming off another strong NBA campaign, averaging 22.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and shooting 55.4 percent in 77 games.

Jordan was clearly a rising star — just like Victor Wembanyama, whose San Antonio Spurs will face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder in a must-watch Western Conference finals series that will showcase the future of the league.

But Woolridge had annual All-Star potential for a rebuilding Chicago team that had only had one winning season in the last eight years.

The Bulls once ran through Woolridge, not Air Jordan

In 1985-86, Jordan ran into his first major NBA setback.

He broke his foot after just three games, leaving Woolridge as the team’s primary offensive threat.

Woolridge was dominant around the rim and an alley-oop specialist[/caption]

Woolridge’s soaring dunks looked very similar to Air Jordan[/caption]

Jordan eventually towered over the Bulls and the rest of the NBA[/caption]

As a young Jordan waited for his injury to heal, the former Notre Dame star averaged 20.7 points and 5 rebounds.

By the end of the year, Wooldridge topped Chicago in scoring (1,448 points), field goals made (540) and free throws made (364).

That positioned Woolridge as the Bulls’ leading scorer in 1985-86 — and it was the last time that anyone expect MJ was the leading offensive option for Chicago until he retired from the NBA for the first time in 1993.

Woolridge also had serious hops.

Jordan’s old teammate was a dunking machine

He won NBA Player of the Week in December 1984 and became one of the league’s best dunkers.

Woolridge, who exceled at alley-oops, participated in the 1984 and ’85 All-Star Slam Dunk contests.

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Jordan was also in the ’85 Slam Dunk competition, finishing second to Dominique Wilkins and beginning another NBA rivalry.

The 1985-86 season was Wooldridge’s last with the Bulls.

Jordan returned to full health the next season and began his era of hardwood dominance, averaging a league-high 37.1 points and finishing second in MVP voting.

Woolridge bounced around NBA after leaving Bulls

Woolridge then bounced from Chicago to New Jersey, Los Angeles, Denver, Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

He even played for former Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns coach Mike D’Antoni in Italy.

Woolridge, who was from Louisiana and played high school in the state, passed away in 2012 at 52.

Orlando Woolridge was the last player in history to lead the Chicago Bulls in scoring before Michael Jordan took over — Woolridge was the last player in history to lead the Bulls in scoring before MJ took over

Woolridge became a journeyman after leaving Jordan and the Bulls[/caption]

For all of his success in college and the NBA, he’s known in history as the last player to lead the Bulls in scoring before Air Jordan took over.

Jordan evolved into a fierce competitor who even turned Charles Barkley’s 1993 MVP award into a mental advantage.

The duo met in one of many famous Finals for Jordan, who once demanded that Team USA coach Chuck Daly instantly play him in a golf rematch in Barcelona to even their personal score.