It’s no secret that the NBA has changed a lot since it’s inception in 1946. Run by bigs who dominated the inside, the league was all about who could use power and strength to their advantage.
As the league slowly began to shift towards the perimeter, mid-range shooters became more common and nobody did it better than Mike. He holds the record for most mid-rangers in a season at 671 and was always very efficient doing it. No doubt, his wide variety of moves was part of the season he was so successful.
To this day, he should be recognized as one of the best mid-range jump-shooters in basketball history.
Of course, this shift towards the outside only intensified after Jordan retired in 2003. In the last seven seasons, the disparity between mid-range jump shots and three-point jumpers has been pretty remarkable.
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On the baseline, we are seeing a similar shift towards the perimeter.
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Today, almost 40% of shots come from beyond the arc, a statistic that would have been considered blasphemous back in the day.
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The graphics by Kirk Goldsberry do a good job of illustrating how the game has changed, but anybody who has paid attention to the NBA these past couple of years will already know.
During the second three-peat, Jordan’s absolute favorite jump shots came from the 2-point areas between the elbows and baselines.
He was not alone — 2-point baseline jumpers were incredibly popular during that 1996-98 stretch, accounting for 26% of the league’s field goal attempts. But Jordan’s signature shot itself is fading away.
In 1997-98, 34 different NBA players attempted at least 300 shots from these zones. In 2018-19, only Aldridge tried that many. His 332 attempts would’ve ranked 29th overall during the “Last Dance” season. In Jordan’s NBA, post play was the norm and half-court possessions regularly ended with players such as Jordan, Glenn Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon shooting fadeaway jumpers from the block.
A lot of it has to do with Steph. The way he dominated the game and opened up the floor for his teammates forced the NBA to adapt. Suddenly, everyone was trying to be Steph and every team was making it a point to hit their perimeter shots.
Despite not being big or strong, Curry is a 2x MVP, 3x Champion, and 6x All-Star, It’s his mastery of the three that has led to so much success.
Indeed, this modern-day NBA is almost unrecognizable compared to what it was during Wilt’s era or even MJ’s era. The three-pointer has taken over to the point where some believe a four-point line should be added.
No matter your opinion on the new age of basketball, you can’t help but credit Steph for its drastic change. As far as impact goes, the 2x MVP may be truly unmatched.
