You can be as good as you want in the NBA. You can be a great scorer throughout the entire year, but if you don’t deliver when the clock is ticking, you won’t be considered part of the true elite of the game.
Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are some of the best players in the history of the game, all the three can score easily and determine the result of a game, but there is more behind that.
These guys have a lot in common, but one of the most impressive facts about them is that they are the best of the best when it comes to winner-take-all games. Michael Jordan averaged 36.8 points per game in those types of matchups. LeBron James ranks second on that list with 34.9 PPG while Kevin Durant closes the top 3 with 33.3 points per outing in win-or-go-home matches.
An update from @EliasSports
Michael Jordan averaged 36.8 PPG in winner-take-all games, the highest average in NBA history among players with at least 3 such games.
LeBron James (34.9 PPG) is 2nd on that list and Kevin Durant (33.3 PPG) is 3rd.
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) May 18, 2020
Highest PPG in winner-take-all games:
➖ Michael Jordan: 36.8 PPG
➖ LeBron James: 34.9 PPG
➖ Kevin Durant: 33.3 PPG
(via @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/DjDV1lxIf6
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 20, 2020
They are the greatest performers in history in those games, doing their job in a great way. You could say Bron is the biggest example of that. He hasn’t lost a Game 7 since the beginning of this decade and we’re not sure when that streak will come to an end. Kevin Durant has also had some good Game 7s and even though he lost some of them, he made sure to give his everything to take the W.
MJ didn’t play many Game 7s during his career (he never played the 7th game in the Finals), but when he did, he made sure to bring his best game.
When it comes to the Finals, there is a stat that shows why MJ is one of the clutchest players in NBA history. Even though he never played the 7th game of the Finals, Jordan is only one of two players to sink multiple go-ahead shots in the final 10 seconds in the NBA Finals since the ABA/NBA merger. The other one? Dirk Nowitzki.
Michael Jordan is one of two players to hit multiple go-ahead shots in the final 10 seconds in the NBA Finals since the ABA/NBA merger.
The other is Dirk Nowitzki. Both did it twice (via @EliasSports). pic.twitter.com/0C40rcMm8E
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) May 21, 2020
Sure, Jordan never played in a winner-take-all game in the biggest series of all, but that just shows you how dominant he was, as well as telling people that when the ball was hot, he didn’t hesitate to take the shot.
