Michael Jordan is undoubtedly the greatest shooting guard of all time, but the Chicago Bulls legend was one of those versatile players who could play multiple positions.
And there was a time when he played point guard and was a force in that position as well, averaging 33.6 points per game. Not to mention, he stacked up 10 triple-doubles from 11 games as a PG during the 1988-89 season.
Moving Jordan to play point was an experiment after he complained about the lack of support from the position to then Bulls head coach Doug Collins.
The latter had always looked at MJ as the pivotal offensive cog in the lineup, but Jordan was seething as he felt there wasn’t a lot of support from the PG, then played by Sam Vincent, who struggled to run the offense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5QOGECQnKo
Collins moved Jordan to the position, and the results were beyond impressive. In his very first outing as PG, he propped up 15 assists to aid the Bulls in a 105-88 win, and later, he turned on the jets to record 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists in just 30 minutes against the Indiana Pacers and help Chicago win 105-88.
As PG that season, Jordan averaged 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 10.7 assists from 24 games — a testimony to his versatility and skill.
Michael Jordan Revealed The Reason Behind Him Playing Point Guard
Michael Jordan’s era of basketball was all about putting life on the line to win games. And a player as hardworking and dogged as Jordan, it was only fair that he demanded the same level of commitment from his teammates.
He also explained why he played PG. “It’s a challenge, and that basically is what Michael Jordan is all about,” MJ said, via Complex.
“I’ve been bothered for some time about the Bulls being a one-dimensional team, a Michael Jordan team. The thing I’ve been harping about all year has come true. The other guys are getting into the game. They now believe in themselves, and that’s what we needed.”
Trust Jordan to do everything out of the box to get his teammates on the same page as he was. The Bulls icon continued to do that even in the later stages of his career when the team bagged the two three-peats in the 90s. If there ever was a doubt that MJ could play multiple positions, there was no better instance than what he did during the 1988-89 season.
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