Better offensive player: Michael Jordan or the Rockets’ James Harden?

Mid-range Shooting

Is this even a question? The mid-range shot is no longer apart of Harden’s arsenal. It vanished years ago. But why? Well, that’s the style of play now. Teams are falling in love with the Golden State way of basketball.

Due to that, the mid-range jumper is a rare occurrence in the current state of the NBA. Only DeMar DeRozan, Devin Booker and Chris Paul are keeping it alive, somewhat. Harden shoots strictly threes and lay-ups. This isn’t really news for anyone.

Michael Jordan averaged 30-plus points per game over several seasons without attempting over 100 threes. It’s hard to imagine that happening now with how much the game has changed. MJ was the king of the mid-range and slashing game. This was an easy selection here and I’m pretty sure everyone could agree.

Winner: Michael Jordan

3-point shooting

The same way it was easy to select Jordan as the better mid-range shooter, this one is an easy selection as well. There’s no question that Harden is the far superior 3-point shooter of the two.

From his rookie year in 1984-85 to his first hiatus after the 1992-93 season, Jordan hit a total of 287 shots from downtown. James Harden hit 378 threes just last year alone, which again goes back to the changing style of the game.

Jordan finished his NBA career with 581 made 3-pointers while Harden currently ranks fifth all-time in 3-pointers made with 2296.

The way Jordan dominated the game, it seems like he simply didn’t need the 3-point shot. Still, although Harden takes too many threes, he is the superior 3-point shooter overall.

Winner: James Harden

Next: Ball Handling & Shot Creating