Michael Jordan excelled in many aspects of basketball during his prime, but three-point shooting wasn’t typically his forte. He primarily relied on his mid-range game and post-up skills to score, though he occasionally punished opponents from beyond the arc.
One of Jordan’s most memorable shooting performances came during Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. In that game, he sank six three-pointers in the first half. Clyde Drexler, who was guarding him, admitted to SLAM Magazine that his strategy was to provoke Jordan into taking long-range shots, believing it would limit his scoring effectiveness.
“I was backing off him saying, ‘You can’t hit that,'” Drexler confessed.
A Good Idea, but an Unfortunate Outcome
Throughout his career, Jordan wasn’t known for his three-point shooting, boasting a career average of just 32.7% from deep. During the 1991-92 season, he had a particularly low shooting percentage from three-point range, making only 27 of his 100 attempts (27%).
Given these statistics, coach Rick Adelman and Drexler’s plan to encourage Jordan to shoot from outside seemed logical. However, underestimating Jordan’s ability to rise to the occasion in the Finals proved costly.
In Game 1, Jordan started hitting one three-pointer after another, much to the delight of the Chicago crowd. After making his sixth consecutive three-pointer near the end of the first half, Jordan famously shrugged while looking at Magic Johnson in the broadcast booth, leading to the game being dubbed “The Shrug Game.”
In the End, Just a Hot Night
Although Jordan cooled off in the second half and missed all four of his three-point attempts, he still finished with 39 points and 11 assists, leading the Bulls to a 122-89 blowout victory. Chicago went on to win the series in six games, securing their second consecutive championship. Jordan was named Finals MVP, averaging 35.8 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game, shooting 52.6% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range.
Jordan ended the series making 12 of 28 three-point attempts, with half of those makes coming in the first half of Game 1. This performance demonstrated that while it might have been a flukey outing for Jordan, his ability to adapt and dominate on the biggest stage was undeniable.
Reflecting on the Strategy
Drexler and the Blazers’ strategy to force Jordan into taking outside shots seemed sound based on his regular-season statistics. However, Jordan’s exceptional performance in Game 1 highlighted the risk of underestimating a player of his caliber. The ‘Shrug Game’ remains a testament to Jordan’s competitive spirit and his ability to defy expectations when it mattered most.