if jordan had a 3ball...

[Prometheus]

honestly i thought it was a cool celebration.

Well you're entitled to your opinion... just be aware that you're probably very alone on this one. I'm pretty sure Gloria even cringed at that shit.

[RidonKs]

you've got it backwards. the reason jordan didn't have a three ball is because he wanted to post up more.

[mehyaM24]

jordan's average 3 point shooting is EVIDENCED by his record of MOST missed threes in 3PT contest history.

http://www.nba-allstar.com/contests/3point/records.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5XOnpCBdiA

but more importantly, he has never had a season shooting 40% from beyond the arc like lebron has, on substantial attempts - of course, one can also point out clutch three pointers in the postseason, where jordan never had something like this



walk off, 3 point game winner IN STYLE, against the leagues #1 rated defense. cant get any better than that.

WHAT WE KNOW II: jordan is a good 3 point shooter if given the attempts, just not on the level of lebron, who has a better career 3 point shooting percentage in the regular season and playoffs.

[dreamwarrior]

MJ shot 45% from 3 in college but didn't have the strength to shoot the NBA 3. A lot of those misses in the 3pt contest were straight but short. With some weight training he'd have no problem with the 3 today

[3ball]

3-Point Percentages - Figures EXCLUDE 1995-1997 Shortened Line Seasons


[COLOR="White"]...........................................[/COLOR]Reg Season[COLOR="White"]...................... [/COLOR]Playoffs

Jordan's Career:[COLOR="White"]........................[/COLOR]28.8%[COLOR="White"]..........................[/COLOR]34.5%

[COLOR="White"].................................................. ................................... [/COLOR]

Lebron Career: [COLOR="White"].........................[/COLOR]34.1%[COLOR="White"]...........................[/COLOR]33.3%

ok, let's ignore that jordan hated the shot... and let's ignore that the shot wasn't used, practiced or valued in jordan's era...

then let's ignore that jordan STILL had the higher playoff 3-point shooting percentage, the higher peak 3-point shooting performance (broke the 3-point record in 1992 Finals), better form, and was dimensions stronger mentally.



no way i'm ignoring all that - i'd bet my house that Jordan would be one of the best 3-point shooters in the league if he played today... Why?... because 3-point shooting drives winning in today's game... and jordan isn't missing out on winning - we can all agree on that.

[SamuraiSWISH]

He didn't bail defenses out or destroy his efficiency by hoisting up a dumb shot consistently. Instead he worked on his craft and became the greatest scorer ever by being an ELITE, consistent mid range scorer.

Something that becomes necessary to excel come playoff time to win. When refs swallow whistles, great defenses can focus in on a player, and the three-point line is defended.

See LeBron's failures in 2010, and 2011 with out a mid range game or post up ability. Or James Harden's drop off a cliff moment come post season.

Of course Mike could hit the 3 ball if need be, or if the defense disrespectfully begged him to shoot it. Just ask Portland, and Drexler. If the game was close MJ would've put up near 70 in a Finals game.

The best player on the floor needs to attack. At the rim, or from the mid range. To keep a defense on their heels. Jacking up 3 pointers as an elite player ultimately isn't a great idea.

[97 bulls]

The 3 point shot was less of a weapon in Jordan's era than it is today. Its no shock that modern guards use it to a greater degree and some may have better percentages as a result. Hell look at Larry Bird's early career 3point shooting percentages... and many consider him the GOAT shooter...not too impressive by modern standards and only increased when it became more of a normal shot league-wide.

Great post Dragon. Look at Wilt Chamberlains FG% early in his career. It was around 45%. Again, why do we.continue to compare stats across eras?

[mehyaM24]

MJ shot 45% from 3 in college but didn't have the strength to shoot the NBA 3. A lot of those misses in the 3pt contest were straight but short. With some weight training he'd have no problem with the 3 today

the bottom line is, jordan was an average shooter from three but he didnt like to shoot 3 pointers because he knew that it would take away from the rest of his game - IOW, he was too INCONSISTENT to be relied on from the 3 point range (opposite would be, larry bird).

of course, this is backed up by the fact, on comparable attempts lebron out shoots jordan in the regular season and playoffs (higher career 3pt percentage WITH a LARGE volume to back it up). of course - when the 3 point line was shortened, jordan took FULL advantage of it, shooting 37.5% during the 1995 season and 42.7% the year following. he attempted over 200 3's in a season he shot over 35% - but again, he just never felt the need to shoot out there because he was not VERSATILE enough to do so CONSISTENTLY.

on substantial attempts (~2 or more with the 3 point line INTACT):
better 3 point percentage in the regular season - lebron
better 3 point percentage in the post season - lebron
better peak 3 point shooter in the regular season - lebron
better peak 3 point shooter in the playoffs - lebron
more game winning 3 pointers in the playoffs - lebron

what we can conclude from this is, the 23'9" distance was simply beyond his range (his 3 point percentage predictably went down during the 1998 season, the year they moved the 3 point back to its original length) - and finally, that jordan simply cannot be compared to lebron, the superior 3 point shooter.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Bron is a better 3PT shooter than MJ. What's new? Not like Jordan couldn't shoot them, as he relied heavily on his supreme mid-range to be effective.