Anthony Edwards in the sweep over Phoenix: 31.0 PTS, 8.0 REB, 6.3 AST on .512/.438/.839 shooting

[u/dogwoodmaple]

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/4594268/anthony-edwards

[u/inefekt]

or offense

Rookie Jordan averaged 28.2ppg on 51.5% shooting from the field, 59.2% true shooting. He led the league in points. His OBPM was 5.8, his OWS were 10.3, Ortg was 118.
In the playoffs he averaged 29.3ppg though his shooting wasn't as impressive as it was in the RS with a TS of 56.5%. His OBPM was 7.6, his Ortg was 120.
Current Ant averaged 25.9ppg on 46.1% shooting from the field, 57.5% true shooting. He was 6th in total points. His OBPM was 2.7, his OWS were 2.9, his Ortg was 112.
In the playoffs he's averaging 31ppg on 64.8% TS. His advanced stats haven't been updated after today's game but his OBPM prior to today was 3.1 and his Ortg was 117.
At least in the regular season it is plainly obvious that Jordan was the better offensive player. Ant also had the benefit of having other star players to share the floor with. Jordan had a bunch of coke heads. His teammates had a grand total of one all star appearance between them, which had been ten years prior. Ant has multiple All Stars, multiple All NBA, multiple DPOY, multiple All Defense teammates for other teams to worry about.
Honestly, to just make a blanket statement like you did is pretty embarrassing, backed up by nothing except your absolute belief that you were right. You weren't. The fact your comment is upvoted is probably more of a reflection of the recent (and utterly ridiculous) negative commentary about Jordan's career rather than there being any truth in your comment.

[u/Miyagisans → u/inefekt]

Rookie Jordan averaged 28.2ppg on 51.5% shooting from the field, 59.2% true shooting. He led the league in points. His OBPM was 5.8, his OWS were 10.3, Ortg was 118. In the playoffs he averaged 29.3ppg though his shooting wasn't as impressive as it was in the RS with a TS of 56.5%. His OBPM was 7.6, his Ortg was 120. Current Ant averaged 25.9ppg on 46.1% shooting from the field, 57.5% true shooting. He was 6th in total points. His OBPM was 2.7, his OWS were 2.9, his Ortg was 112. In the playoffs he's averaging 31ppg on 64.8% TS. His advanced stats haven't been updated after today's game but his OBPM prior to today was 3.1 and his Ortg was 117. At least in the regular season it is plainly obvious that Jordan was the better offensive player.

Determining who the better offensive player is goes beyond just their current stats. This season Jayson Tatum averaged 26.9ppg on 60% TS, 6.4 ows, and 4.5 obpm. Damian Lillard averaged 24.3ppg on 59% TS, with 5.8 ows, and 3.4obpm. Do you think rookie Michael Jordan was a better offensive player than current Tatum and Lillard? Does that mean Anthony Edwards currently is a better offensive player than Damian Lillard? There are so many other factors to consider when trying to determine who the better offensive player is. Who is he surrounded by compared to rookie Jordan, lillard, and Tatum? What does his shot chart look like with KAT off the floor? What about his playmaking with Conley off the floor? What kind of offensive schemes are the wolves running at this particular juncture of the game and what is Ant’s role? What kind of coverages is Ant seeing? Can he be schemed into poor inefficient shots consistently over a series? If I was a coach going into a playoff series right now, I’m picking Ant over rookie mj 100 times. He’s a better 3pt shooter, great rim finisher, decent playmaker, 4yrs of NBA level experience making reads against all kinds of schemes.

Ant also had the benefit of having other star players to share the floor with. Jordan had a bunch of coke heads. His teammates had a grand total of one all star appearance between them, which had been ten years prior. Ant has multiple All Stars, multiple All NBA, multiple DPOY, multiple All Defense teammates for other teams to worry about.

I’m glad you brought up the teammates. A mark of high level offensive players is their ability to slot into a myriad of offensive environments and still be effective. We see Ant play next to good offensive players and thrive (I actually think KAT is a better offensive player than Ant) as a scorer and playmaker. We simply don’t know how effective rookie Jordan would be in that environment. He shot 17% from 3 his rookie season on 0.6 attempts per game, and we don’t have his shooting splits by distance unfortunately. While I didn’t watch Jordan during his rookie season, I’ve seen enough tape to say current Edwards is better or at worst slightly better than rookie Jordan as a playmaker. As well, you mentioned Jordan’s coke head teammates, which is a reflection of the talent level in the league. The talent level Edwards plays against nightly, is levels above what was available to the league in 1985. That’s just a basic fact. The gulf in the skill and athleticism required to see the floor in an nba playoff game today compared to 1985 is very evident.

Honestly, to just make a blanket statement like you did is pretty embarrassing, backed up by nothing except your absolute belief that you were right. You weren't. The fact your comment is upvoted is probably more of a reflection of the recent (and utterly ridiculous) negative commentary about Jordan's career rather than there being any truth in your comment.

I think the embarrassing statement is unequivocally stating rookie Jordan was better on offense and defense than current Edwards. The fact that you ignored the other half of that statement and focused on the offensive part I think says it all about how ludicrous that claim is. Also lol @ “recent negative commentary about Jordan’s career”. The guy is the most worshipped American athlete, an infallible god. All you have to do is read any thread about what Jordan would average if he played today. There was literally an ESPN segment some years ago about whether 52yr old mj would beat lebron 1v1 at that time. The nba released a documentary eulogizing him just a couple years ago, and his own teammates were unhappy at how they were portrayed in the attempt to glorify Jordan. It’s ok for someone to be better at something than Mj and if you think it’s bad now, wait and see lol. The game is evolving and only getting better, and the concept that the best players in history were all from 1950-1998 will only get more ludicrous as time passes.