Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has some thoughts on Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's assertion that James Harden is a better scorer than Chicago Bulls legend and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
The Mavs owner believes Harden — who has led the NBA in scoring the past two seasons — has optimized his scoring since he shoots mostly 3-pointers and layups.
While Cuban thinks Harden is the better scorer in today's game, he believes if you put Jordan in today's game, MJ would be the more gifted scorer.
“It's a different game. The mid-90's game was brutal. It was a much more physical game. So being able to score back then meant being able to deal with physicality,” Cuban told CBS Sports. “Now, there's so much more space because of five-out, five being able to shoot the ball, that you have the opportunity to score more. The 3-point shot is more prevalent, so I think Daryl is right in terms of absolute analytics, but the real question is if you put Michael Jordan in today's game he might struggle some, because he wasn't a pure 3-point shooter. Well, that's wrong, he wouldn't struggle. He would be incredible, but I don't know if he'd be as efficient. But knowing Michael, he'd figure out how to be a 45 percent 3-point shooter, and that would change the equation.
“So, let me rephrase. If you put Michael Jordan in today's game and he improved his 3-point shot like you know he could, then I say Michael Jordan would be the more gifted scorer in today's game because he's more multi-faceted. James Harden in today's game, analytically-driven with lots of space, is only shooting layups and 3-pointers. I think for today's game he has optimized his scoring. So comparing this era versus last era analytically, I think Daryl is right; Harden is the better scorer for today's game, but I don't think it's apples to apples.”
James Harden averaged 36.1 points last season and scored at least 30 points 32 games in a row at one point in the season. The 2018 MVP scored at least 50 points nine times. He shot 44.2 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc and 87.9 percent from the foul line.
Michael Jordan has career averages of 30.1 points, which ranks first in NBA history. He was also a 10-time scoring champion.
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