The NBA game has really changed over time, from a league dominated by big men in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000’s to a fast-paced game and raining threes in today’s NBA.
Michael Jordan, who won six NBA championships and two three-peat in the 90’s never leaned on three-point shot. Although Jordan can knocked them down, he didn’t shot many threes during his time.
Jordan never developed a decent three-point shot. Throughout his fifteen-year NBA career shot 27% from the three point territory. He attempted 1,778 threes and made a total of 581 three-point shot on his entire NBA career.
It will take less than two seasons for Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry to reach those numbers. Curry made 354 and 337 threes during the 2018-19 and 2020-21 NBA season, respectively.
In an old interview way back 1992, Jordan addresses why he didn’t develop his three-point shooting.
“My three-point shooting is something I don’t want to excel at because it takes away from all phases of my game. My game is fake, drive to the hole, penetrate, dish-off, dunk. When you have that mentality of making threes, you don’t go to the hole as much.
You go to the three-point line and start sitting there, waiting for someone to find you. That’s not my mentality, and I don’t want to create it because it takes away from the other parts of my game.”
Jordan explained that he didn’t improve his three-ball because he believes that it will take away most aspects of his game and added that when you start shooting threes, you’ll just wait on one corner for someone to find you.
Instead, Jordan became a mid-range god and master of pump fakes and ball fakes during his career. He shot 50% from the field during his playing days and has a career 50.9% FG from mid-range. During the 1996-1997 NBA season, Jordan made 547 mid-range shots on 1,100 tries which translates to 49.5% efficiency.
About Author
