Michael Jordan, Putting up 51.5 and 63.7 Percentages for Mid Range and Slashing, Has NBA Reddit Placing Him over LeBron James and Kevin Durant

Widely touted as the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan excelled in almost all aspects of the game of basketball. Despite playing in an era where efficiency was not the prime focus, Jordan was incredibly efficient. NBA Redditor ‘ChokePaul3‘ recently brought up some intriguing stats in a r/nba post, that proved that MJ was one of the most efficient players in the game’s history, especially when it came to mid-range shooting and slashing.

The post broke down His Airness’ mid-range numbers based on volume and distance from the basket. In the 1996-97 season, the NBA officially started tracking mid-range stats. Jordan, in that season, made 588 of 1202 shots taken(49%) from the mid-range. Despite the high volume, he shot 51.5% from short midrange (10-16 ft) and 49.5% from long midrange (16 ft – 3 pt line). Some of these shots were fadeaways which became one of his most iconic shots.

NBA fans hail Michael Jordan as the GOAT after astounding stats surface

If we talk about midrange shooting, the few players that stand out include the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, among others. According to the Reddit post in question, Michael Jordan clearly had better statistics than both Nowitzki and KD. For reference, Kevin Durant, during his MVP season, shot 45.7 % from 10-14 feet range, while Dirk Nowitzki shot between 48-50% from midrange in his career.

 

When it comes to slashing, Jordan seems to hold the better statistics again. Slashing refers to driving to the basket and finishing at the rim. According to the NBA Redditor, the stat started getting officially tracked since 2013 by the league. LeBron James can be regarded as the greatest slasher and his best numbers came in the 2017-18 season with 60% conversion. However, the post mentions the caveat that his Miami Heat stint may have been better.

Even though tracking wasn’t available during Jordan’s era, the Redditor used RealGM’s statistics to make his point. RealGM unofficially tracks NBA statistics. Based on their data, between 1990-92, Jordan averaged an unprecedented 63.7% in this category. For reference, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in 2022-23 with a percentage point of 51.8. The above stats put into perspective the scoring ability of Michael Jordan and his efficiency when compared to his counterparts.

Fans had unique reactions to the post:

Jordan’s final shot as a Chicago Bulls player

Michael Jordan has had many iconic moments in his career, but none bigger than his final shot as a Chicago Bulls player. In 1998, the Chicago Bulls faced the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals. The deciding game of the Finals was Game 6, which ended with a picture-perfect midrange from MJ to win the championship.

The midrange shot was in the 10-19 feet range that Jordan excelled in, and as expected, he drained the basket to win the game. It marked an end to MJ’s Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bulls franchise that saw six NBA championships and five MVPs for the NBA superstar.