A recent trend of fans posting clips of lowlights from ’90s basketball has sparked a war between eras, with modern fans using these clips to disprove the greatness of the ’90s legends like Michael Jordan. A clip of Jordan not being guarded at the three-point line has quickly gone viral, with a fan using it to compare Jordan being guarded to Ben Simmons being guarded in today’s NBA.
The fan isn’t unfair to criticize Jordan’s three-point shot. From all the great things he could do, his outside shooting was one of his weaknesses. He also played in an era where three-point shooting wasn’t prioritized by many stars. Jordan didn’t shoot even 30% from three until his fifth season in 1989-90. That was one of his best shooting seasons, as he attempted 3.0 three-pointers per game and converted at a 37.6% clip.
That wasn’t sustained, as Jordan’s percentages (31.2% in 1990-91 and 27.0% in 1991-92) and attempts (1.1 attempts in 1990-91 and 1.3 attempts in 1991-92) went down from three in subsequent seasons. He had a resurgence from three-pointers from 1994 to 1997, as the shortened 22-foot three-point line allowed Jordan to shoot 50.0% on 1.9 attempts in 1994-95, 42.7% on 3.2 attempts in 1995-96, and 37.4% on 3.6 attempts in 1996-97.
His shooting percentages would crash after the regulation 23.9-foot three-point line was reintroduced in 1997, shooting 23.8% on 1.5 attempts in his final season with the Bulls in 1997-98. His three-point attempts and percentages were poor in his Wizards stint, making only 26 three-pointers on 108 shots over two seasons.
How Does Michael Jordan’s Shooting Stack Up Against Other Legends?
Making Michael Jordan take a three-point shot was often the best way to restrict his scoring, given his proficiency from mid-range and inside. Jordan was almost unstoppable when within the arc, so if the defense has gotten him to attempt a three, that means they have done well. The three-point line has gradually grown in importance over the years and the next generation of superstars adjusted their game accordingly.
Jordan shot 32.7% from three on 1.7 attempts for his career. Kobe Bryant shot just 0.2% better but with 4.1 attempts, taking a higher volume of three-point shots. Surprisingly, LeBron James is the best three-point shooter of the three, shooting 34.7% from three for his career on 4.6 attempts. He’s in the midst of a career shooting year, averaging 40.7% from downtown on 5.4 attempts per game.
The league is now a primarily three-point league, with an explosion in the mid-2010s in three-point shooters. Historical trends in three-point shooting can be tracked, as the entire 1980s saw just 65,833 three-point attempts over the decade. The number increased to 250,533 in the ’90s, 379,549 in the 2000s, and 558,253 in the 2010s.
We’re just four years into the 2020s and the NBA has already seen 385,512 three-point attempts in three-and-a-half seasons. Modern stars will all be generally better shooters than Jordan because it’s a necessity in today’s league.
We can always theorize how Jordan would perform in the modern era, but given his work ethic, we can be sure he’d add an outside jumper to maximize his dominance over the league. He was already one of the most gifted offensive players in league history without a reliable three-point shot, winning 10 scoring titles. Just imagine what would have happened if he also had that in his arsenal.
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