Who Is The Greatest SG Of All Time?
Recently, I made my opinion on who was the greatest PG of all time. Today, I will be going to the next position in a lineup, shooting guard.
Recently, I made my opinion on who was the greatest PG of all time. Today, I will be going to the next position in a lineup, shooting guard.
Candidates:
Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant
Dwyane Wade
Clyde Drexler
Ray Allen
And, in my opinion, the greatest SG of all time is… Michael Jordan (duh).
Now, let me tell you why Michael Jordan is the greatest SG of all time.
Play-Style
Michael Jordan was a great scorer, period. With his 6 foot 6 frame, he was a natural scorer. In his first years in the league, Jordan was driving through the lane, dunking on everybody, and using his athleticism and bounce to hand in the air. He would not shoot as many jump-shots, but he was a solid shooter. He had more of a balance in his game with driving through the lane and shooting jumpers.
Later in his career and as he starts to win some of his championships, Jordan started to use more jump-shots. He started to lose some of that athleticism, and he started to use the baseline more. He would feel out his opponent and shoot contested jump-shots, making them look effortless.
Even after retiring for the first time and coming back, Jordan returned back to his old form with the tough jump-shots and occasional flash of his young self.
Jordan’s game was so great that he could play two different ways and still be the best in the league. In his first 7 years, he was driving down the lane and embarrassing people with his dunks and with his graceful athleticism. Later on, he turned to more of a jump-shooting offense, and he was still dominant.
Stats/Consistency
Jordan was one of the greatest statistical players of all time. Over his career, Jordan had career averages of:
30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. He shot 49.7% from the field and 32.7% from 3.
Jordan was always a great scorer, but an underrated part of his career was his rebounding and passing ability.
Some facts about Michael Jordan and scoring:
– Jordan never scored under 20.0 points per game in his career, even with his days with Washington.
– With his days as a Bull, he never averaged less than 22 points.
– Jordan led the league in scoring 10 times.
– Jordan averaged over 27 points 11 times.
Jordan had 9 seasons with over 5 assists, including 7 seasons in a row.
Jordan had 14 seasons with over 5 rebounds, including 13 seasons in a row.
Michael Jordan was not a slacker on defense as well.
Jordan led the league in steals 3 times, and he averaged more than 1.5 steals in every single season in the league except for 2001-02.
Jordan was also a great free throw shooter, only shooting under than 80% twice.
Jordan shot over 50% from the field 6 times, and he shot over 40% from the field for his entire career.
Jordan was the master of stat stuffing and consistency. Nobody in the league will ever be that successful and still put up the numbers that he did.
Wins/Accolades
Not only was Jordan a great player, he had all the accolades to back him up. Jordan is often remembered as the greatest player because of his accolades and winning mentality.
In 1982, Jordan won the national championship with the Tar Heels as a freshman.
Jordan was a 6x NBA Champion, winning them in two 3-peats. He was also a 6x Finals MVP.
Jordan was a 5x Regular Season MVP.
Jordan was a 14x All Star and a 3x All Star Game MVP.
Jordan was selected to the All-NBA 1st Team 10 times, and the All NBA 2nd team once.
Jordan was the Defensive Player of the year in 1988, and was selected to the All-Defensive Team 9 times.
He was the 1985 Rookie Of the Year, and was on the All-Rookie Team.
Jordan led the league in scoring 10 times, and he led the league in steals 3 times.
Jordan was a back-to-back Slam Dunk Champion in 1987 and 1988.
He was a 3x AP Athlete of the year in 1991,92, and 93.
He was on the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
He was the Consensus National College Player Of The Year in 1984.
He was the ACC Player of the year in 1984.
He was a 2x USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year in 1983 and 1984.
His #23 is retired by the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls.
He is a 2x Gold Medalist in 1984 and 1992. He got a Gold Medal from the FIBAS Americas Championship in 1992, and he got a Gold Medial in the Pan American Games in 1983.
Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019, and he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Famers in 2015.
On top of all of this, Jordan had a regular season W/L of 769-461. That gives him a win% of 0.625 or a 63% regular season win percentage.
In the playoffs, Jordan had a W/L record of 119-60, giving him a win percentage of 0.66 or 66%.
Jordan is the best shooting because of all of his accolades, his winning mentality, and his world-wide fame during his playing days. He was a winner and is very easily the best shooting guard.
Please leave a comment if you agree that Michael Jordan is the greatest SG of all time, and if not, who is?
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