Former NBA player Vlade Divac got to play with Magic Johnson and against Michael Jordan, and he believes the two icons would dominate if they played today. Divac appeared on the latest episode of Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast, where he made bold claims about Johnson and Jordan when asked for his thoughts on today’s NBA.
“Well, it’s a different game definitely,” Divac said. “Start with the rules. I don’t like to compare one era to other, because it’s not fair, because it’s different rules, different approach to the game. But if you really want me to say one thing, if Magic plays in today’s game, he would average 25-30 assists per game.
“If MJ plays in today’s game, he would probably average 50 points per game,” Divac continued. “But it doesn’t take anything away from the guys today. They really are great athletes, great shooters, because the game is now basically all about three-pointers and everybody’s taking those three.”
Divac, who was also the GM of the Sacramento Kings from 2015 to 2020, is far from the first to claim that Jordan would be putting up monstrous numbers today. A lot of former players have said that.
Back in February, Toni Kukoc said Jordan would have had no problem averaging 45 points per game in today’s NBA. Kukoc thinks his former Chicago Bulls teammate would be averaging 20 to 25 free throws a night because of how fouls are called today.
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue pointed to free throws, too, when saying Jordan would average 45 points per game today. Lue played alongside the great man on the Washington Wizards and believes that physicality being taken out of the game, combined with his IQ, would help him crush the competition.
Jordan definitely would have had a lot of success in the modern NBA. He was incredible in his era, averaging 30.1 points per game over the course of his career. That is the highest career scoring average for a player in league history.
Jordan also won a record 10 scoring titles. His best scoring seasons were 1986-87 and 1987-88, during which he averaged 37.1 and 35.0 points per game, respectively.
While all that is incredible, it still seems a stretch to say Jordan would get to 50 today. He might get to the 40s, though, something that only Wilt Chamberlain has ever accomplished.
As for Johnson, he holds the record for the highest career assists average in NBA history at 11.2 per game. He won four assists titles, with his best playmaking season being 1983-84, where he averaged 13.1 assists per game.
Now 30 would have definitely been beyond reach even for Johnson, but he could have potentially become the first player ever to average 15 assists a game. He is the greatest playmaker we have ever seen.
Divac would have been great in today’s NBA, too. Despite being a 7’1″ center, he could shoot threes and playmake. The Serb obviously wouldn’t have been as good as his countryman Nikola Jokic, but he might have made the All-Star team on multiple occasions.
