Despite Michael Jordan’s Success as a Point Guard in 1988-89, Phil Jackson Doubted Bulls Superstar’s Ability to Command the Floor: “Not Consistently Good”

Nithin Joseph | 06/06/2023
Despite Michael Jordan's Success as a Point Guard in 1988-89, Phil Jackson Doubted Bulls Superstar's Ability to Command the Floor: "Not Consistently Good"

Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players in the world of basketball. He excelled on the court inspiring millions. And, while there are challengers to his crown as the GOAT, there can be no denying he is the No.1 shooting guard of all time. However, he didn’t play solely in that position during his NBA tenure. In fact, there was a time in his career when he played point guard.

At one point, MJ tried playing the role of the primary ball handler and found a bit of success. But, as revealed in the book Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby, Phil Jackson, the coach of the Chicago Bulls didn’t believe he could play the role consistently. He would much rather have him at shooting guard.

Phil Jackson did not believe Michael Jordan could play the point guard position

In the 1988-1989 season, the Chicago Bulls weren’t doing so well. They were on track to have a worse record than the previous year, and Michael Jordan was not pleased about it. While he was the focal point of the offense, there was no one who could run it effectively.

As such, he had a meeting with then-head coach Doug Collins, who decided to give him a run at point guard. The results were spectacular, as Jordan averaged a near triple-double over a 24-game stretch that season, with 30 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. He even grew to like the position.

However, once the season was done, MJ went back to his preferred position of shooting guard. And, behind the scenes, he was ecstatic. He had doubts about who would take over the scoring if he was running point. Phil Jackson agreed as he had doubts about Jordan’s ability to run the floor.

“Phil Jackson would later reject his assistants’ suggestion to move Jordan to point guard, arguing that Jordan’s passing was not consistently good enough and that giving Jordan the ball, even more, would reduce the chances of dividing up the scoring load, one of Jackson’s main goals.”

Jackson, who took over as head coach following the 1988-89 season and it was his idea to have Jordan move back to the two spot. And, things worked out splendidly, considering the amount of success the Bulls had after that decision.

Phil Jackson’s decision to return MJ to the shooting guard spot won the Bulls six championships

The 1989-1990 season saw Michael Jordan go back to playing the shooting guard spot. New head coach Phil Jackson did not have as much faith in MJ’s point guard abilities as Doug Collins did. So, he made the decision to move him back, despite some of his assistant’s suggestions that he consider playing him as the primary ball handler.

Well, no one can fault Jackson, after all the Bulls found great success with Jordan playing solely as a shooting guard. Six NBA Championships later and everyone had pretty much forgotten about His Airness’ time running the offense.

Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine Jordan playing any position other than shooting guard. But, regardless, his contributions, whether at point or at the two helped make the Bulls one of the greatest franchises in the history of sports.

Post Edited By: Jeet Pukhrambam
Michael Jordan Phil Jackson

About the author

Nithin Joseph

Nithin is a content writer at The SportsRush. Like his favorite athlete Kobe Bryant, the company has helped Nithin elevate his writing skills to a whole new level, especially as an NBA content writer. With over 1500 articles to his name, Nithin's love for the sport knows no bounds. And, as he continues to watch the sport on a daily basis, he hopes his fascination with the NBA, especially the Miami Heat will inspire more and more readers to give the sport a chance. Perhaps, one day making basketball in India as big as it is in the United States.

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