Houston Rockets: Detailing why it’s unfair to compare Jordan vs. Harden

Anthony Duckett
James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets looks at the scoreboard in the second quarter during Game Three of the Second Round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets looks at the scoreboard in the second quarter during Game Three of the Second Round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets takes a three point shot defended by Andre Iguodala #9 of the Golden State Warriors
James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets takes a three point shot defended by Andre Iguodala #9 of the Golden State Warriors (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Jordan vs. Harden: Three Point Shooting

Harden also is a career 36.5% three point shooter, whereas Jordan shot 32.7% over the course of his career. Not to say Jordan couldn’t shoot from deep, the game was just played much differently back then.

The three point shot wasn’t as emphasized during Jordan’s playing days as it is today, so Jordan wasn’t taking them. Jordan never led the league in three point attempts and never even attempted more than 297 in a single season. Harden MADE 378 three pointers last season alone.

Based off the last 2 years, Harden takes more threes than anyone else in the league so the law of averages says that he would naturally make more. Harden has made over 2000 three pointers in his career whereas Jordan has only made 581 threes in his entire career. This isn’t to say Jordan wouldn’t have been able to adapt his game to the current game, but he didn’t have to at the time.

Next: Scoring Titles/Usage Rate

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