![]() ![]() With nine seconds remaining against the Pistons in Game 3 of the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals, Jordan went to work. He took two dribbles to his left before elevating for a pull-up jumper over Ehlo. With just three seconds remaining, Jordan caught the inbound pass. His path to the rim went basically unimpeded and he was able to hit a layup. The moment was far more difficult than the shot.Ĭraig Ehlo wasn't going down without a fight, though. But Jordan was able to create space without a ball or head fake. Not that it wasn't awesome, because it was. With the Chicago Bulls first-round series against the Cavaliers knotted up at two games apiece, Jordan hit a two to put his Bulls up by one. You're going to get double your money's worth on this one. It doesn't hurt that he ripped the bottom of the net on it, either.ġ989 NBA Playoffs vs. With that in mind, his release was both quick and perfect. ![]() Jordan didn't have to create space for himself and was wide open on the catch. Layups obviously aren't as tough as a fadeaway, and fadeaways aren't as hard as blindfolded half-court heaves.ĭown by one with 25 seconds remaining in Game 3 of a first-round series against the Bucks, Jordan came off a screen and hit a strong-side half-fadeaway.Īdmittedly, it wasn't that difficult. Our grading criteria will consist of us evaluating the difficulty. LeBron and Jordan have 16 clutch postseason makes between them, all of which were fun to watch and will be thrilling to relive. It's time for us to move beyond the numerical side of clutch and award style points. Will LeBron be able to elevate his current numbers and do the same, or perhaps even better? Still, Jordan was able to maintain a 50 percent conversion rate for his career, which is beyond impressive. Though that gives him a 50 percent ratio to LeBron's 43.8, one shot really isn't that much of a difference. Jordan hit on eight of his first 16 clutch attempts in the playoffs, just one more than LeBron. If we were to break it down even further to see how he fared through his first 16 attempts-the number LeBron is currently at-it gets a little bit closer. LeBron's clip is more than 15 percentage points above that.īelow is a chart that shows how LeBron has stacked up against some of the NBA's best in this clutch department since entering the league. As of now, the NBA average on these clutch shots is just 28.3 percent. LeBron's average is still well above that of the league, though. Per, since LeBron entered the league in 2003, he has hit on the highest number of clutch field goals in the NBA. Thus far, he is 7-of-16 on those shots, good for a 43.8 percent clip, significantly lower than Jordan's. In fact, Jordan was the only player who attempted at least 13 shots and managed to even hit on 42 percent or more of them.īut this isn't 2011 anymore. None of them put up more than 12 such shots. Only four other players managed to knock down 50 percent of their clutch attempts during that time as well (Ray Allen, Michael Finley, Tayshaun Prince and Robert Horry). He put up 25, hitting on just seven (28 percent). Right up through 2011, only Kobe Bryant attempted more postseason shots in the clutch. As of 2011, when this data was compiled, the NBA shot just 27.8 percent with the game on the line as a whole. Luckily for us, Pattani has us covered there as well.Īccording to Pattani, Jordan was 9-of-18 for his career in our playoff version of clutch.Ī 50 percent clip on such shots is simply outstanding. It also means that clutch playoff statistics for Jordan are hard to come by. LeBron James and Michael Jordan by the NumbersĪdvanced analytics have never been more popular to employ. Final 24 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime.Go-ahead or game-tying shot attempts (free throws, turnovers and the like were ignored).LeBron was clutch for his most recent Game 1 winner against the Indiana Pacers, Jordan was clutch for his NBA Finals-winning shot against the Utah Jazz in 1998 and Steve Nash was clutch for handing Metta World Peace the same towel to wipe his face that he had just used on his sweaty armpits.įor our main focus here-buzzer-beaters/game-winners-we're going to use the criteria provided by ESPN's Alok Pattani ( via Henry Abbott of ): Some interpretations are more common than others, and there are also those who are a bit too cavalier with the term. There are countless definitions of what it means to be "clutch." Titles tell part of the story, just not all of it. Is what LeBron has done in the clutch during the postseason thus far comparable to that of His Airness? Once considered the most prolific choke artist of the generation, his image has since transcended most criticism. The Chosen One has laid claim to more than his fair share of accolades with the outcome of the game in his hands. ![]()
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