“Something I Don’t Want to Excel at!”: Michael Jordan Disapproved Iconic ‘Shrug Game’ 23 Years Before Stephen Curry ‘Revolutionized’ the Game

Stephen Curry has revolutionized the concept of shooting 3-pointers in basketball. The Baby-Faced Assassin has a high 3-point percentage of 42.6%, thus proving his prowess in sharpshooting. 17 years before Curry was drafted into the league, Michael Jordan was also revolutionizing the game with his prowess and skills. Jordan was also a great shooter, with a significant shooting percentage for scoring 3s. However, in 1992, 23 years before Curry’s revolution, Jordan disapproved of his ‘Shrug Game,’ calling it unsuitable for his playing mentality.

Jordan’s three-point prowess was on display during Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Jordan scored 39 points during that game night, scoring 35 in one half. Of this, 10 points came from Jordan’s three-point attempts that night. The Bulls were able to overwhelm the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals series, winning 4-2 over Clyde Drexler and co.

Michael Jordan disapproved of his own shrug game, calling it unsuitable for his mentality

Michael Jordan had set the tone for the 1992 Finals by shooting a barrage of 3s against the Trail Blazers. He had a 3-pointer percentage of .429 through the series and averaged 35.8 points per game. However, Jordan dismissed his iconic ‘shrug game’ by calling it unsuitable with his mentality. Here is a clip of Jordan’s interview after the 1992 Finals Game 1, posted by NBA Celebs Update on X.

Jordan’s playstyle primarily involved driving toward the basket, dunking, or an offensive play from the paint. Shooting 3s from the three-point line did not corroborate with Jordan’s mentality for playing games. Hence, His Airness wasn’t a big fan of playing three-s during games. However, a notable shift in his mentality can be observed as Jordan slowly started sitting on perimeters rather than penetrating the paint. Here is what Jordan had to say about his three-point game.

“3-point shooting is something that I don’t wanna excel at. Because it takes away from all parts of my game. My game is to fake drive to the hole, penetrate, dish-off, you know, dunk whenever. And when you have that mentality, as I found out in the first game, of making threes. You don’t go to the hole that much, you go to the three-point line. And you start sitting and waiting for someone to find you. And that’s not my mentality, and I don’t wanna create that because it takes away from my other parts of the game.” 

It’s worth noting that Jordan never averaged 3.6 three-point attempts per game. Furthermore, his three-point average had fallen below 2.0 in all but four seasons. While he was firm on his strokes from distance, he never relied on that ability to define his game. Rather, Jordan cemented himself as a performer with his style of play, becoming arguably the greatest player in the NBA’s history.

NBA legend Patrick Ewing compared Stephen Curry to Jordan for revolutionizing the game

Like Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry also revolutionized the game in his own way. Curry’s incredible ability to stretch the floor had made NBA teams desperate to search for sharpshooters like him. Comparing Curry to Jordan, Patrick Ewing remarked,

“Steph, like Michael, changed the game. You got guys shooting those deep shots and doing the things that he did. Michael changed it by all the dunking he was doing. Georgetown played Davidson and my son was on the team so I went to the game. Curry kicked our butts.”

Both Steph Curry and Mike have inspired a generation of players who look to carry their idols’ legacy forward. While guys like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have based their game on Michael Jordan, current contemporaries such as Damian Lillard and Trae Young look to carry the baton forward from Steph Curry.