Photo Credit: Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

Jeff Van Gundy Believes Michael Jordan Would’ve Averaged 40 Points In Today’s League

The offensive game in the NBA has evolved over time, and now high-scoring games and players putting up video game numbers are becoming the norm. 

Just this past week, the NBA witnessed Donovan Mitchell score 71 to deliver the eighth-most scored in an NBA game, while other stars such as Luka Doncic, Klay Thompson and Giannis Antetokounmpo all went off with a 50-point bomb.

With this offensive explosion happening in the NBA, former NBA head coach and current ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy recently pondered on just how would six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan fare in today’s league. 

Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game on 49.7% shooting from the field in his career. He won 10 scoring titles and even averaged 37.1 points for a season. Granted that Jordan had no problems scoring in a more physical era of basketball, Van Gundy believes Jordan would’ve done better in today’s NBA.

 “If you would give the ball to Jordan in his prime with these rules, with all the shooting, and think that he wasn’t going to shoot over 50%? He shot over 50% with limited 3-point shooting, limited space in the triangle offense and the hand check or decapitation defense.”

“It was hand checks and at the highest form of physicality, the Pistons or the Knicks trying to take your head off. So there’s no question he would have led the league in scoring.”

“No question he would’ve shot over 50%, lived at the free-throw line and I think he absolutely would have been an outstanding 3-point shooter because of practice, work and it just being a more emphasized point of view.

“He would have averaged 40 [points].”