With a trip to Super Bowl 59, Patrick Mahomes will have the opportunity to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to their first three-peat in the Super Bowl era. He would join quarterbacks who have four or more Super Bowl titles, including Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady.
This has sparked a comparison between Mahomes and Michael Jordan. Could the Chiefs’ success be compared to the Chicago Bulls’ dominance in the 1990s, when Jordan led them to six NBA championships in eight years? Is Mahomes preventing other quarterbacks from winning titles the same way Jordan stopped other NBA players? Is Mahomes more loved or hated than Jordan?
“Everybody has to choose a team they go against or that they feel is getting help from someone,” DeAndre Hopkins said via The Score on Jan. 27. “Everybody has to choose a villain, and it’s easy to choose someone who’s winning as much as our guy is.”
How could Mahomes be considered a villain? Just like Tom Brady and Michael Jordan were. Why do people still talk about Jordan’s push-off (before making the game-winning shot over Bryon Russell in the 1997-98 NBA Finals) nearly 30 years later? Because Jordan was one of the best, and when he won his sixth, (some) people grew tired of his success.
Here’s a breakdown of Mahomes and Jordan’s postseason careers:
Patrick Mahomes Postseason Record
The Chiefs defeated the Bills 32-29 in the AFC Championship, and Mahomes improved to 17-3 in the playoffs with Kansas City. He has led the Chiefs to five Super Bowl appearances, and he now has the chance to lead them to their fourth Super Bowl title in six seasons. This is impressive, especially considering Mahomes is just 29 years old.
Michael Jordan Postseason Record
Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in 13 seasons from 1984 to 1998. The Bulls were 30-7 in playoff series with Jordan and had a perfect 6-0 record in the NBA Finals during that time. Chicago won three straight NBA championships from 1991-93 and again from 1996-98.
Patrick Mahomes vs. AFC Quarterbacks
Here’s an eye-opening stat: Mahomes is 14-2 as a starter in AFC playoff games. The only two AFC quarterbacks who have beaten Mahomes in the postseason are Tom Brady, who led New England to a 37-31 victory against Kansas City in the 2018 AFC Championship, and Joe Burrow, who guided Cincinnati to a 27-24 win in the 2021 AFC Championship. Both games went into overtime.
Buffalo’s Josh Allen is the only quarterback to lose to the Chiefs multiple times in the playoffs with Mahomes under center. The Bills are 0-4 in playoff matchups with Mahomes and Allen facing off. Mahomes also led the Chiefs to AFC Championship victories against Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore in 2023 and Burrow’s Bengals in 2022. Allen, Jackson, and Burrow combined are 1-6 in the postseason against Mahomes.
Other AFC quarterbacks who have each lost one playoff start against Mahomes include Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Ryan Tannehill, Baker Mayfield, Ben Roethlisberger, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, and C.J. Stroud.
Michael Jordan vs. the Eastern Conference
It took Jordan a little while to dominate the Eastern Conference in the NBA. The Bulls lost in the first round to Milwaukee once and Boston twice between 1985 and 1987, and Jordan faced three straight losses to the Pistons from 1988-90. At that point, Chicago’s playoff series record with Jordan was 5-6.
This changed starting in 1990-91 when Chicago embarked on their six championship runs. After that, Jordan only lost one more playoff series — the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals against Orlando, during a season where Jordan returned from retirement. The Bulls won the other 25 playoff series from 1990-1998.
Chicago beat the New York Knicks in five playoff series with Jordan. New York had Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, which is similar to how Allen and Buffalo are viewed in this comparison. The Knicks made the 1994 NBA Finals while Jordan was retired.
Jordan also dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning four playoff series, and the Miami Heat, winning three. During the six championships, Chicago beat Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Orlando, Miami, and Indiana. The Pacers featured Reggie Miller, a Hall of Fame player who didn’t reach the NBA Finals until after Jordan’s retirement.
Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl
Mahomes is 3-1 in Super Bowls and won the Super Bowl MVP in all three victories. The Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl 54 but lost to Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9 in Super Bowl 55. Now, Mahomes has a chance to complete a three-peat.
The Chiefs defeated the Eagles 35-32 in Super Bowl 57 and the 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl 58. Mahomes’ Super Bowl wins came against Jimmy Garoppolo, Jalen Hurts, and Brock Purdy. Hurts finished second in the NFL MVP voting in 2022.
Mahomes averages 267.8 passing yards per game with seven touchdowns and five interceptions in those Super Bowl appearances.
Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals
Jordan was 6-0 in NBA Finals and won six Finals MVP awards. In his first three-peat, the Bulls beat the Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Suns. The second three-peat included wins against the Sonics and back-to-back NBA Finals victories over the Jazz.
Jordan averaged 33.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game in the NBA Finals.
In this comparison, Malone and Stockton would be similar to Hurts and the Eagles. The Jazz had remarkable regular-season records, finishing 64-18 in 1996-97 and 62-20 in 1998. Yet, they lost to the Bulls in six games in both the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals. Will Hurts change that by leading the Eagles to a win in Super Bowl 59?
Is the Michael Jordan-Patrick Mahomes Comparison Valid?
Any comparison to Michael Jordan is sure to get some pushback. We’ve seen this with LeBron James, who has four NBA championships and is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
However, the comparison is more about who they are stopping from winning. The best way to describe Jordan’s dominance during his era is by looking at the players who didn’t beat him in the NBA playoffs: Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Chris Mullin, and Clyde Drexler.
They were all part of the original Dream Team in the 1992 Summer Olympics. None of them beat Jordan, though Drexler went on to win two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets. Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird did manage to defeat Jordan’s Bulls with the Pistons and Celtics, but those teams were established before Jordan’s time in the NBA.
Other than losing to Brady, Mahomes has dominated the postseason in a similar way. Jackson might win a third NFL MVP this season. Allen has kept the Bills in playoff contention, and the Bengals have missed the postseason the last two years with Burrow.
These are all potential Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks, yet they’re still trying to catch Mahomes in the most competitive playoff format in professional sports.
So yes, the comparison fits — even if Mahomes is chasing more than six championships. He’ll need seven to catch Brady.
