Why was Jordan so great?
Why was Jordan so great though? How did North Carolina's 6 foot 6 guard, selected third overall, come to dominate a league full of overwhelmingly big men?
Jordan's scoring ability and volume was uncanny, and his efficiency on the court was better than any player in history. Over his career, he averaged 30.2 pace-adjusted points per 36 minutes, easily the most of any qualified player since 1977. But he also had a career true shooting percentage of 56.9 percent, much higher than the league average of 53.5 percent over the years of his career.
What's even more impressive is the lack of three-pointers Jordan attempted over his career. Only 7.2 percent of Jordan’s career field-goal attempts were threes, meaning he was doing the vast majority of his work inside the arc.
Jordan was able to post an incredible 51 percent field goal percentage, despite his tough shot selections. His percentage is notably higher than some other NBA legends, including Kobe Bryant (48 percent), Carmelo Anthony (47 percent), Russell Westbrook (47 percent), and even Dirk Nowitzki (50 percent).
Jordan's greatest shots
All of this helps explain why Jordan’s Bulls finished in the top five in offensive efficiency every season from 1989-90 to 1996-97. J.R. Moehringer, an american sports journalist once said, "The greatest players use anger as fuel. Michael Jordan played every night with something like road rage"
When critics argue against Jordan as the best player ever, they always point out that a diluted period dominated by the Bulls during which the NBA added six teams from 1988 to 1995 in a seven-year span. Or that with many Hall of Famers (including Jackson as coach) and hyper-efficient position players (Steve Kerr, Horace Grant, etc.), Jordan had a good supporting cast. Or that even the defenses were easier then. But Jordan still excelled as a guard in an era where it was legal to hand-check. Teams would strategically set up their lineup to bully smaller built teams.
But the numbers tell us that, both in terms of what he did and how he did it, Jordan was uniquely brilliant. In several respects, MJ acted as a bridge between the NBA's past age of powerful big men and today's era of high-use perimeter creators as an effective guard with unstoppable post-up abilities. And he definitely affected any player who came after him.
Comments
Post a Comment