Honestly, this whole thing started ’cause I felt kinda dumb yesterday. Watching highlights, someone drops “MJ got six rings, right?” in the chat, and for a hot second, I hesitated. Duh, of course he does… I think? But that little pause bugged me. Like, why wasn’t I totally sure about something so basic?
The Initial Blunder
Got curious. Grabbed my phone right there on the couch. Typed “Michael Jordan championships” into the search bar. Simple, right? Wrong. My dumb fingers fumbled. Accidentally pressed the damn calculator button instead. Calculator app pops up, big zero staring back at me. Probably a sign, ha! Took a breath, deleted that mess, actually focused this time, and typed it correctly.
Sifting Through the Noise
Okay, tons of links show up. Articles, videos, listicles. Feels overwhelming. Click the first few links. Some are clear – “Michael Jordan won six NBA championships” right in the headline. But others are messy. One started talking about Finals appearances, which confused me for a sec – aren’t they the same as winning? Turns out, no! He went to the Finals six times and won all six times. That’s wild.
- 1991: Bulls beat Magic’s Lakers. Felt young watching this one.
- 1992: Bulls smack the Trail Blazers. Clyde Drexler never stood a chance.
- 1993: Three-peat over the Suns. Barkley finally understood.
He retired. Baseball? Really? We all pretended to care for a minute. Then bang! He’s back.
Counting The Comeback
More results. Scroll down. Later seasons.
- 1996: Dominated the Sonics. They looked shellshocked.
- 1997: The flu game. Insane. Beat Stockton and Malone.
1998: Last shot against Utah. Perfection. Bulls win again.
The Final Tally and My Slip-Up
So, six total championships. ’91, ’92, ’93… then ’96, ’97, ’98. Three before retiring, three after. Makes sense. But then I saw the numbers ’91-’93 and ’96-’98 and my brain did a dumb thing. Tried adding years quickly: 93 minus 91 is 2. 98 minus 96 is 2. Started wondering “Is that four? Wait… no!” Did that thing where you count on your fingers under the table. First three (’91,’92,’93) = 1,2,3. Second three (’96,’97,’98) = 1,2,3. 3+3=6. Phew. Felt stupid for almost making it four. Why did those gaps trick me?
Why It Trips People Up (Including Me)
Sat back and thought about it. It’s really two distinct chunks of wins separated by that weird baseball break. 1991-1993 and 1996-1998. Probably why people (like me!) sometimes get confused counting the years. It’s not one straight six-year streak. Also, seeing ’93 and ’96 – that gap feels big! Easy to mentally separate them into two groups. Combine that with just assuming “Jordan won a bunch,” and bam, hesitation sets in.
The Realization
So yeah. Jordan has exactly six NBA championship rings. Went to six Finals, won every single one. Confirmed. Felt satisfying knowing it cold now. Simple lesson learned: don’t just assume, even about the GOAT. Count ’em yourself. Feels kinda good knowing I took the time to get it straight. Turns out, sometimes getting things right feels better than just knowing vaguely. And realizing why people mix it up? That was probably the best part.
