Michael Jordan has gone down as arguably the greatest scorer in NBA history, and his former Chicago Bulls teammate Toni Kukoc believes he’d have been far more deadly on the court today. During an interview with Sport Klub, Kukoc claimed Jordan would be putting up 45 points a night in today’s NBA.
“Michael Jordan would shoot 20-25 free throws per game today because according to the rules of the game now, when you put your hand on an attacker, fouls are called,” Kukoc said. “And no one, even at that time, could have stopped him. I think he would have had no problem averaging about 45 points in this NBA.
“But everyone says that, and I’m not just saying that because I played with him, because I trained with him every day,” Kukoc continued. “The old players say that, as well as the new players who were at the end of his career at the time, like [Kevin] Garnett and a few others, not to mention all those names. They all admit that Michael was something different, something that could have played basketball and dominated in the last 100 years, especially in this day and age when 70% of that basketball is offensive and attack-oriented.”
The rules have changed drastically from Jordan’s time in the NBA to now. They favor the offenses more than ever before, leading to an offensive boom. The style of play has changed greatly over the last decade or so, with the emphasis on the three-pointer, and Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant believes it is easier to score 30 points in a game now than even 15 years ago.
Someone like Jordan would have plenty of success in today’s NBA. He won a record 10 scoring titles, and his career average of 30.1 points per game is the highest in league history as well.
Would Jordan get to 45 points a night if he were playing today, though? Probably not. While the rules would make Jordan’s life easier, the advantage he had in terms of athleticism during his heyday wouldn’t be quite as significant today. The players he’d face on the perimeter are bigger and faster. Would Jordan still dominate? Sure, he would, but not to the point where he starts entering Wilt Chamberlain territory.
To be fair to Kukoc, though, he isn’t the only one who is of this belief. Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue also thinks Jordan would average 45 points in today’s NBA. Lue, too, pointed to fouls being called when you touch a player as a reason for it. Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game in 1986-87, and Lue reckons he would be able to add eight points to that.
Toni Kukoc Thinks He’d Average Close To A Triple-Double In Today’s NBA
Jordan’s averaging 45 points a game in today’s NBA wasn’t the only interesting claim that Kukoc, a Hall of Famer, made in that interview. The 57-year-old believes he’d come close to averaging a triple-double.
“Given my basketball skills and ability to play multiple positions, I don’t think I would have any major problems getting close to a triple-double every game,” Kukoc stated.
Kukoc might be able to pull that off, as he was a good rebounder and passer. The 1998-99 season was his best, as he put up 18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Bulls. You can see Kukoc upping those if he played today, so this is far more likely to happen than his Jordan claim. It won’t be as easy as he seems to think so.
