The sports world is full of superlatives, hot takes, and stretched truths leading to some very bold statements. One that fans today like to say is ‘Michael Jordan would average 50 points in today’s NBA thanks to a lack of defense and increased foul calls’.
As the greatest NBA player of all time, Jordan has plenty of supporters, but there is a whole other faction of basketball fans who now believe James is better than MJ ever was. We’re not here to get into the age-old debate that will rage on for decades.
What we are here for is James’ thoughts on how well Jordan would fare if he were among the elite athletes competing in the NBA today. His answer might surprise some fans, whereas others will see his statement as obvious.
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Could Michael Jordan score 50 today? LeBron James says no way
For the record, Michael Jordan is the NBA’s all-time leader in points per game at 30.1, though he’s technically tied with Wilt Chamberlain. These two are regarded as not only the best scorers of their era but obviously in NBA history too. Chamberlain was decades ahead of his time, dominating in an era where athletes just weren’t built like him. But Jordan? He was clearly still far ahead of his peers, but could he be even better in today’s modern game?
While it’s possible Jordan would be just as good, if not better, LeBron James doesn’t like the thought that he’d suddenly run circles around all the elite players today.
“There’s nobody that’s gonna average 50 in our league. That’s just disrespectful, no matter how great you were in your era and how great you are to play in any era. If that’s the case, I believe guys will average 50 in their era, the era that they played in. So I don’t believe that, but when Channing said what he said, if you’ve ever seen the meme of Homer Simpson when he slides back into the bush, that was me.”
LeBron James on how Michael Jordan would do in today’s NBA
We all love a good usage of the Homer Simpson bushes GIF, but James isn’t wrong when he says the idea that Jordan would be able to average 50 points per game today is disrespectful. Is Stephen Curry not a good scorer? Joel Embiid? James Harden? Luka Doncic?
Jordan was an incredible athlete. As great as James has been, it’s hard to take the title of being the best basketball player ever away from MJ. Chances are, if he were playing today, Jordan would still be the best player in the NBA, but to think he’d suddenly soar past his career-high of 37.1 PPG all the way up to 50 PPG is just pure insanity.