Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban can envision Michael Jordan having a ball in this era of the NBA, confident he would average 40 points per game if he was born into these times.
“Michael Jordan in today's NBA will kill it,” said Cuban during a phone interview on The Dan Patrick Show. “His body's going to be fresher every night not having Charles Oakley or Rick Mahorn knocking him on his a** every time he went into the lane. His challenge would have been how to shoot the three better and he would have done that just like how most guys in today's game have improved their three. He would be averaging 40 in today's game.”
Jordan was already showing signs of adapting late in his career with the Chicago Bulls, hitting 42.7% from deep in 1995-96 and then 37.4% during the following season.
For as physical a player as he was in his heyday, Jordan only averaged double-digit free-throw attempts in his second and third season, as back in the day there were no touch fouls and players would play through minor contact.
Jordan might have thrived in the game of basketball regardless of the era he's in due to one big factor — a maniacal desire to win. Jordan went from being an offensive powerhouse to a better passer, a stronger rebounder, and a lockdown defender; each season polishing another aspect of his game.
After coming back from his first retirement, he still managed to be just as refined, if not more after missing a lengthy period of time away from the sport. If he was able to pull that off, it's hard to fathom there is something he couldn't do in today's game.
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