The greatest player ever debate is one that dominates most of the time on talk shows and social media but an underrated aspect is discussing the greatest scorers of all time. Funnily enough, the players right on the top of the NBA’s All-Time scoring list rarely ever get a mention in this, with two players seeing most of the conversation happening about them in Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant, who recently passed Jerry West in the all-time scoring list.
ESPN’s First Take had Stephen A. Smith debating with Kendrick Perkins about which of the two is the better scorer and while KD is as unstoppable as they come, Smith still gave the edge to MJ. His reasoning revolved around MJ’s mentality and his ability to score from every level despite the physical defense of that era.
SAS: “Jordan’s ability to finish at the basket. Jordan’s ability with his mid-range game. Jordan having the aerial assault that he had was unrivaled. Jordan playing in a far more physical era, etc. Still is a career 30-point per game scorer, who played at arguably the most physical time in basketball,” Smith said.
“So when you look at what he brought to the table, he was still a 49% shooter from the field. And his mentality was that of an assassin.”
Michael Jordan averaged a staggering 30 points per game throughout his entire NBA career, winning the scoring title an incredible 10 times. This is more than KD’s 27 points per game and 4 scoring titles. While the comparison isn’t as simple, the raw numbers of Jordan’s peak are tough for any player to compete with.
Having said that, Durant being a near 7-footer means his release is nearly impossible for anyone to stop. He is far better from three-point range than MJ and has also shown the ability to take over games with his elite scoring. There’s no real right answer here, but Smith picking MJ in the scoring department is hardly a surprising move.
