Bulls fans - How did MJ change his offensive game each year?

[FPL]

84-85
85-86
86-87
87-88
88-89
89-90
90-91
91-92
92-93
94-95
95-96
96-97
97-98

[Havlicekstealsit]

Steroids and Hennessey.

[thedangerouskitchen]

I can't give a year-by-year account (it was a looong time ago), but if memory serves Jordan relied heavily on his lightning speed / quickness / explosiveness by driving relentlessly to the basket his first 3-4 years... and he also took a fair amount of mid range shots. Toward the end of the 80's he starting scoring more in the post, and by the early 90's he expanded his range on the perimeter to the point where he was killing you from anywhere on the court and in any manner. When he came back (95-98) he dominated in the post and with the mid range, and relied less on drives to the basket.

[FPL]

I can't give a year-by-year account (it was a looong time ago) but if memory serves, Jordan relied heavily on his lightning speed / quickness / explosiveness by driving relentlessly to the basket his first 3-4 years... and he also took a fair amount of mid range shots. Toward the end of the 80's he starting scoring more in the post, and by the early 90's he expanded his range on the perimeter to the point where he was killing you from anywhere on the court and in any manner. When he came back (95-98) he dominated in the post and with the mid range, and relied less on drives to the basket.

So I have a good frame of reference for the development of his post game (overlaps with working out with Grover):

89-90: Buys weights during the season, hooks up with Grover.
90-91: Gets weight up over summer of 90.
91-92: Puts more weight on over the summer.
92-93: Doesn't work out during the summer due to Olympics (does during the year, though)
94-95: Doesn't have a chance to work out too much.
95-96: Works out heavily (including on the movie set), gets into great shape, probably his strongest ever.

As for his driving, it obviously started decreasing in 88-89 when he faced Detroit in the playoffs, but he used it in the regular season quite a bit through 91-92. During that playoffs though, he started relying on his jumper more. This continued the next season. He looked quick driving in 94-95 when he came back (but wasn't as strong as he was earlier), but after adding muscle during summer 95 he was able to drive again in 95-96, and stay on his feet. He was able to do so to a lesser degree in 96-97, but in 97-98 he'd lost a step, and had to conserve energy due to the bigger load he had on offense.

Now, my question for you is with regards to his jumper. When did it truly become a weapon? He made a lot of long-range shots against Boston in 86 even, but I don't think he trusted it as much then as he did later on in his career.

[Master Spade]

Now, my question for you is with regards to his jumper. When did it truly become a weapon? He made a lot of long-range shots against Boston in 86 even, but I don't think he trusted it as much then as he did later on in his career.[/quote]


I don't think it was that he "Didn't trust" his jumper when he was young. It was more that when you could Drive like he could, why would you settle for the jumper? He could get past Anyone/Everyone, even while being Hacked by the Bad Boys! Back then, he was rightly named "Air Jordan".

So his Jumper became more of a weapon in the years when his driving ability starting on the downswing.


EDIT: Let's remember that famous Jumper in College! He had it even back then!


Once he became a Poster Player,DAMN! His turn around Jumper is one of the Deadliest Weapons in NBA History!

Jordan's Turn around in the post or Kareem's Skyhook?

[FPL]

I don't think it was that he "Didn't trust" his jumper when he was young. It was more that when you could Drive like he could, why would you settle for the jumper? He could past Anyone/Everyone, even while being Hacked by the Bad Boys! Back then, he was rightly named "Air Jordan".

So his Jumper became more of a weapon in the years when his driving ability starting on the downswing.

Once he became a Poster Player, boy! His turn around Jumper is one of the Deadliest Weapons in NBA History!

Jordan's Turn around in the post or Kareem's Skyhook?

So which season do you think he had the combination of all three (the drive, post game, and jumper) working the best (question open to TDK and others as well)?

[dwcmwa]

I don't think it was that he "Didn't trust" his jumper when he was young. It was more that when you could Drive like he could, why would you settle for the jumper? He could past Anyone/Everyone, even while being Hacked by the Bad Boys! Back then, he was rightly named "Air Jordan".

So his Jumper became more of a weapon in the years when his driving ability starting on the downswing.

Once he became a Poster Player, boy! His turn around Jumper is one of the Deadliest Weapons in NBA History!

Jordan's Turn around in the post or Kareem's Skyhook?

So which season do you think he had the combination of all three (the drive, post game, and jumper) working the best (question open to TDK and others as well)?

1992-93.

[thedangerouskitchen]

I can't give a year-by-year account (it was a looong time ago) but if memory serves, Jordan relied heavily on his lightning speed / quickness / explosiveness by driving relentlessly to the basket his first 3-4 years... and he also took a fair amount of mid range shots. Toward the end of the 80's he starting scoring more in the post, and by the early 90's he expanded his range on the perimeter to the point where he was killing you from anywhere on the court and in any manner. When he came back (95-98) he dominated in the post and with the mid range, and relied less on drives to the basket.

So I have a good frame of reference for the development of his post game (overlaps with working out with Grover):

89-90: Buys weights during the season, hooks up with Grover.
90-91: Gets weight up over summer of 90.
91-92: Puts more weight on over the summer.
92-93: Doesn't work out during the summer due to Olympics (does during the year, though)
94-95: Doesn't have a chance to work out too much.
95-96: Works out heavily (including on the movie set), gets into great shape, probably his strongest ever.

As for his driving, it obviously started decreasing in 88-89 when he faced Detroit in the playoffs, but he used it in the regular season quite a bit through 91-92. During that playoffs though, he started relying on his jumper more. This continued the next season. He looked quick driving in 94-95 when he came back (but wasn't as strong as he was earlier), but after adding muscle during summer 95 he was able to drive again in 95-96, and stay on his feet. He was able to do so to a lesser degree in 96-97, but in 97-98 he'd lost a step, and had to conserve energy due to the bigger load he had on offense.

Now, my question for you is with regards to his jumper. When did it truly become a weapon? He made a lot of long-range shots against Boston in 86 even, but I don't think he trusted it as much then as he did later on in his career.

Contrary to popular opinion Jordan always had a reliable shot from just outside the paint to mid-range... it's just that he was so literally unstoppable off the dribble that he didn't have to take jumpers all that often his first few years because he'd just blow by his defenders and take it to the rack. So in that sense his jump shot was always a weapon, per se... but I'd say he started relying on it more as the 80's came to an end, so as to conserve energy since he was so tenacious on the defensive end as well.

As noted, he really expanded his range in the early 90's, but never took a lot of 3-pointers because (as you know, of course) long-range shooting just wasn't a big part of the game back then... but during the first 3-peat his jump shot from 20 feet in was deadly.

[thedangerouskitchen]

I don't think it was that he "Didn't trust" his jumper when he was young. It was more that when you could Drive like he could, why would you settle for the jumper? He could past Anyone/Everyone, even while being Hacked by the Bad Boys! Back then, he was rightly named "Air Jordan".

That's exactly right Spade...

[Master Spade]

I don't think it was that he "Didn't trust" his jumper when he was young. It was more that when you could Drive like he could, why would you settle for the jumper? He could past Anyone/Everyone, even while being Hacked by the Bad Boys! Back then, he was rightly named "Air Jordan".

So his Jumper became more of a weapon in the years when his driving ability starting on the downswing.

Once he became a Poster Player, boy! His turn around Jumper is one of the Deadliest Weapons in NBA History!

Jordan's Turn around in the post or Kareem's Skyhook?

So which season do you think he had the combination of all three (the drive, post game, and jumper) working the best (question open to TDK and others as well)?

That question starts with answering one thing, when did he first have his post game? Because he always had that jumper and his Drive to the basket, he just didn't shoot too much jumpers till later.

Thinking back........when did he first start posting up? I'm trying to remember, but....

[FPL]

I don't think it was that he "Didn't trust" his jumper when he was young. It was more that when you could Drive like he could, why would you settle for the jumper? He could past Anyone/Everyone, even while being Hacked by the Bad Boys! Back then, he was rightly named "Air Jordan".

So his Jumper became more of a weapon in the years when his driving ability starting on the downswing.

Once he became a Poster Player, boy! His turn around Jumper is one of the Deadliest Weapons in NBA History!

Jordan's Turn around in the post or Kareem's Skyhook?

So which season do you think he had the combination of all three (the drive, post game, and jumper) working the best (question open to TDK and others as well)?

That question starts with answering one thing, when did he first have his post game? Because he always had that jumper and his Drive to the basket, he just didn't shoot too much jumpers till later.

Thinking back........when did he first start posting up? I'm trying to remember, but....

He had a good post game from when he came into the league, but he really started using it when he hooked up with Grover. He bought weights and started working out with Tim during 89-90, but not until the next summer did he get his weight up (he put more weight on again in summer 91, and actually got big again in summer 95, but he played a lot more in the triangle/out of the post during the second threepeat) to the point where he posted up regularly in meaningful games.

[thedangerouskitchen]

I don't think it was that he "Didn't trust" his jumper when he was young. It was more that when you could Drive like he could, why would you settle for the jumper? He could past Anyone/Everyone, even while being Hacked by the Bad Boys! Back then, he was rightly named "Air Jordan".

So his Jumper became more of a weapon in the years when his driving ability starting on the downswing.

Once he became a Poster Player, boy! His turn around Jumper is one of the Deadliest Weapons in NBA History!

Jordan's Turn around in the post or Kareem's Skyhook?

So which season do you think he had the combination of all three (the drive, post game, and jumper) working the best (question open to TDK and others as well)?

That question starts with answering one thing, when did he first have his post game? Because he always had that jumper and his Drive to the basket, he just didn't shoot too much jumpers till later.

Thinking back........when did he first start posting up? I'm trying to remember, but....

He was posting quite a bit in the late 80's... by the time the 90's rolled in he was a beast in the post, but again, he was still the most explosive slasher (by far) in the game so his post play / jump shooting wasn't magnified.

IMO Jordan during the first 3-Peat was at his best insofar as Offensive versatility, to the point where he could dominate from anywhere on the court.

Of course we remember MJ's unstoppable post game during the second 3-Peat because he shot more from there (since his slashing took a back seat), but he still had that shot during the first 3 peat.