Detailed Michael Jordan analysis: using new data to gauge his impact | Greatest Peaks Ep. 6

This is the 6th episode in a series on the greatest peaks in NBA history (focusing on 1977-2020), featuring detailed scouting reports and film breakdown on the best players in NBA history at their best, along with analysis of their impact using historical data & stats to size up the highest peaking players ever.
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Twitter: @elgee35

Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.

Stats courtesy:

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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.

Series music:
csus (instrumental)
Hair (fairlight)
Imperfect Place
Lost by Alter Ego
Restless Knight

#ThinkingBasketball #GreatestPeaks #NBAGoat

[ThinkingBasketball]

A ton of people asking about the years ('89-91) -- it was actually really clear cut to me. 

First step and explosiveness start to wane a little by '91, along with his motor. Since so much of his game is based off that, he couldn't quite generate as many advantages by '93 on offense (can see this in dip in free throw rate), and the slight reduction in motor made him a little less active on defense (where his playmaking is key). Additionally his box based stats and impact stats both peak in this period ('89-91), along with his on/off stats we tracked (+/- is less impressive in the '92 postseason). 

1988 is a bit different, because his athleticism/motor were still incredible so he peaks on defense, but his passing and shot selection weren''t as polished as the ensuing seasons.

[Redtalun]

If MJ saw this critique of his defense he’d take it personally

[BronBron]

This series is better than anything ESPN has ever produced.

[palebluedotg]

Ben, you're a blessing.
Finally someone taking this conversation leaving out the dogma of MJ being the perfect player. For people like me that came too late to actually see him play on a day to day basis, this is the first time I have an objective and analytic view on this incredible player who is often buried under the narrative he holds.
You have all of my gratitude.

[Deeplycloseted]

I grew up in Chicago, born in 77’. I was just starting to follow sports closely when MJ joined the Bulls. I didn’t understand as a 10 year old kid, how good he was. To me, he was the best player on the Bulls by a lot, and I knew he was one of the better players in the league. It didn’t dawn on me that he was a sports icon, until we were on vacation in Florida, and a shopping mall shoe store was FILLED with Michael Jordan shoes, jerseys, gigantic was a Foot Locker, but it might as well have been a Michael Jordan/Nike thats all they seemed to advertise. Sure, me and all my friends had his we lived in Chicago. I figured every city had their star player and everyone bought their shoe. By the time the Bulls started winning titles, I knew that not only was he the best, but he was the most recognizable person on the planet.

It wasn’t just that he won and filled the stat sheet. It was the way he moved. I could see a shadow of Michael Jordan moving with the ball, and I could tell it was him. His moves weren’t just show-boating, they had purpose.

A big man dominated league was changing. For the first time it didn’t matter how many 7 footers were guarding the rim. MJ would just go around them, or over them. His athleticism was so off the charts, it really didn’t matter what size he was.

And the defense....my god, he put the same maximum effort into defending every time. He frustrated opponents, constantly getting int he way, closing passing lanes, and was constantly swiping at the ball.

Recency bias is a thing. I know that its hard to imagine somebody better than LBJ when you never watched a prime MJ play live. Lebron is a great player. No question. Michael Jordan though, its hard for me to imagine another athlete being so far ahead of ALL of his peers, at any time in history.

“When the best player in the world, is also the hardest working player on your team, that pretty much sets the tone.”

~ Steve Kerr

[kryptonitetime]

MJ's gotta be the most graceful basketball player ever. Just pure poetry in motion on the court.

[swageyamatobiyolo]

13:50
Damn, MJ's playmaking really stacks up nicely compared to some of the great passers ever. It's because his creation isn't limited to simply racking up assists - his mere presence on the floor makes life SO much easier for his teammates offensively.

Also, this video made me realise that I've been misunderstanding some aspects of his greatness. He has such a monstrously high peak not because his defense was necessarily as impactful as his offense, but because his offensive peak is so damn high (with his unparalled scoring and vastly underrated playmaking) that his defense being simply really good is enough to push his OVERALL impact to near-untouched levels.

Fantastic work by Ben, this series is amazing.

[FirstnameLastname-gexy]

Shocking to hear that Jordan gambled too much

[javenterry]

Jordan's rebounding is so underrated. He's a guard rebounding at a high level in a league dominated by big men And where everyone crowded the paint

[rasenganpimp]

This was the quickest 24 minutes of my life

[realking]

Jordan's off-ball movement is severely overlooked!

[AXTerminator]

Jordan is freaken Thanos with all 6 infinity stones:

1) Mind - Killer Mentality
2) Power - Explosive First Step
3) Reality - Control and Mastery of the Ball
4) Soul - Unmatched Artistry
5) Space - Created with his Amazing footwork
6) Time - Hang Time!

[MindfulAttraction]

Without a doubt Jordan was the most fluid player. Just the way he moved there was a style to it. Behind him to me is bird. They're both play their own pace but Jordan was just so acrobatic

[backback]

What's not discussed enough is how valuable MJ's fantastic off ball ability was, and how it allowed Pippen to be the great playmaker that he was by allowing him to have the ball to make plays with. Had MJ just played the way he did in '88-'89 when he averaged 32.5/8/8, which was similar to how Lebron and Westbrook play being ball dominant and running pick and rolls or Iso drive and kick all the time, it's reasonable to think he would've continued to improve along those lines and averaged lines like 37/10/10, but that kind of ball dominance would prevent players like Pippen from utilizing their playmaking abilities. Hence, Jordan made Pippen better by being willing to play off ball. As Jordan said in The Last Dance, he initially did not like Phil Jackson taking over, because Doug Collins had put the ball in his hands all the time, whereas Phil wanted to take the ball out of his hands more and utilize his off ball abilities so that players like Pippen and BJ could use their playmaking abilities as well.

[rionshikder]

Finally, a discussion about MJ's greatness without mentioning "Killer Mentality", "Clutch Genes", "Greatest Lockdown Defender of All Time", or any other subjective hyperboles. Amazing work, good people of Thinking Basketball. It helps a lot of people like me, who only have highlight reels and The Last Dance to learn about MJ. Especially, putting his statistical impact at his peak against other greats at theirs, really helps to contextualize how much he actually impacted the game.

[pochen]

This is a great video. I think one of the biggest thing that is overlooked here is his low turnover rate. For a player with such high usage, his turnover rate is abysmally low against other high volume scorer or creators (look at James Harden, Russell Westbrook, etc). His jump pass turnovers and his lack of anticipation on his passes are rare occasion than norm and did not result in him turning the ball over needlessly. In a way, his offense game is way less chance taking than his defense game, and I am not sure if having Pippen, an all-time great wing defender, in his back pocket, played into some of those gambles and playing the passing lane on the defensive end. He knows very well that more than likely enough those gambles will turn into fastbreak points, and if it doesn't pan out, there is a big chance that Scottie is there to help. IMO that's smart play, and you see it in the +/-. Fantastic video!

[yd]

MJ’s playmaking ability was the most underrated part of his game.

[bigmassive]

I remember in my youth reading an article about Jordan's footwork, that he studied Olympic-level long and high jumpers' footwork. And that doing so, helped Jordan increase his leaping ability. He was able to glide further, hang in the air longer. Being mindful of footwork, perfecting it, will harness one's overall abilities.

[pashapasovski]

His gambling on defense had an enormous psychological impact on opponents and that doesn't show in stats!

[sammcdermott]

THis is probably the first video I've seen of someone discussing and showing his real play rather than just talking about awards and intangibles, looking at you ESPN