76ers president Daryl Morey claimed that James Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan, citing data that measures how many points a team generates while he has the ball.
Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey sparked a bold discussion about NBA scoring, claiming that James Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Position: SF, SG
Age: 62
Height: 199 cm
Weight: 98 kg
Birth place: United States of America
“I still can't believe they couldn't figure it out. I mean, they got deep, but they never won the whole thing. One of the youngest ages ever, they made the NBA Finals,” Morey said.
“But I don't think they realized James Harden was as good as he is now, right? That's correct. To be fair, I don't know if anyone did,” he added.
Morey explained why the 76ers invested heavily to acquire Harden.
“We put all our assets in to trade for him, but no one could anticipate he'd be the best player in the world. Why did you put all your assets? Why him? So, both the eye test, because he looks amazing.”
“I don't know if anyone watched him, but if you looked at data at the time, once he had the ball in his hands, and it's still true to this day, and I get a lot of shit because, you know, someone asked me, who's a better scorer, him or Michael Jordan? And then it's just factual that James Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan.”
Credit Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix
When it comes to measuring pure scoring ability, 76ers president relies on numbers, not just highlights.
“Based on the math? Based on literally, like, you give James Harden the ball, and before you're giving up the ball, how many points do you generate, which is how you should measure offense,” he explained.
“James Harden is by far number one in NBA history, and he was number one even at the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's just he was coming off the bench.
“He was a little more hidden. So, you needed good data to sort of suss that out. So, we knew he had that amazing skill to be a scorer,” Morey concluded.
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