Michael Jordan Defied Gravity and Analytics: Unchecked

Michael 'Air' Jordan may have a logo of him dunking but it was his mid-range game that truly separated him from other NBA stars.

Michael Jordan defied gravity and analytics as Air Jordan could’ve easily been called Mid-Range Michael, though that sounds way less cool.

However, for all of his skills, perhaps MJ’s best trait was his ability to score from the toughest parts of the floor. In fact, during "The Last Dance" era he shot nearly 50% from those spots on the court at a rate that hasn’t been equaled since. Which is probably why former mid-range maestro Richard Hamilton recently said MJ told him, “Add that to your game, that’s the hardest play in the game of basketball to guard.” Now, unlike say Jamal Crawford, I don’t mean this as a potshot at analytics. 

--Whattt the best EVER said the hardest shot to guard was a mid-range?! 🤔
...but these analytical guys are saying.. Aw nevermind. https://t.co/nehUXuwB1a

— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) April 28, 2020

Even the Houston Rockets of all teams let Chris Paul shoot from there because he could hit them. But the general consensus is those are the shots defenses want to surrender. 

Which in Jordan’s day players knew intuitively as well. Keep the ball away from the rim and put a hand up. Kinda like Craig Ehlo did. Sorry Craig.

It’s just while Michael’s acrobatics were awe inspiring there are plenty of high fliers, what he was able to do otherwise was the true outlier. And it’s also a formula that has worked for the likes of Kobe Bryant and Kawhi Leonard en route to championships. While adding that kind of shot, along with a three, also took LeBron James’ game to another level and into a certain conversation.

So while it might not quite lead to "A spectacular move by Michael Jordan!", it was what MJ did by the numbers that truly separated him. 

Even if the numbers usually disagree.