Considering what Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan would average in the modern era, it has become one of the NBA community’s favorite pastimes. The winner of ten scoring titles during his career, when games were still played in the high 80s and low 90s, sparked speculation about how Jordan would fare in today’s fast-paced, high-scoring basketball landscape.

Luckily for us, there’s no longer a need to hypothesize. MJ himself has admitted he would have been less successful if he had to face advanced defensive schemes like zone defense.

According to Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune, before the league office decided to implement game-altering rules like the defensive three-second rule and grant teams the freedom to deploy any defensive scheme they desired, including the zone defense, Jordan took it upon himself to plead to the competition committee to reconsider their decision.

“Jordan was making an impassioned plea before the competition committee that had gathered to consider rules changes to enliven the NBA game. Jordan spoke passionately. If teams were able to play zone defenses, he said, he never would have had the career he did,” he reported.

An act to protect his legacy?

In more ways than one, Jordan was a basketball visionary who saw the game in a different light than most. One must wonder if his forceful plea to the competition committee was a last-ditch attempt to protect his legacy at all costs, given that he may have envisioned what the league may develop into in the years that followed as scoring became more free-flowing and his scoring feats could be thrown into jeopardy.

Using himself as the example for why the rules shouldn’t change was undoubtedly a powerful tactic, but one that ultimately failed as the league encouraged a more pleasing product to the general public’s eye.

His admission doesn’t do him any favors

In any event, MJ’s forecasting was correct, as the league has transformed into a high-powered, up-and-down brand of basketball that often sees games played with more than 120 points on each side.

Michael’s admission that he wouldn’t have had the career he had if he had played against the zone defense raises some questions marks. His Airness played in an era that left defenders on an island and at the mercy of the offensive superstar they were facing.

While Jordan’s attempt to convince the league office could be seen as trying to slow down the inevitable basketball evolution, in the end, MJ lost out, firstly with superstars that came after him playing against more advanced schemes, and secondly with the likes of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant passing him on the NBA’s all-time scoring list despite playing against those tougher defensive playbooks.

Others have stated that MJ would average 50 in today’s league, given the rules change. Given the schemes players have to deal with nowadays, it’s disrespectful to the game to even entertain the notion that he would average close to that on a nightly basis.

The Bulls legend earned his right to be considered the greatest natural scorer of all time. Still, we may need to slow down our discussion of how his production would translate to the modern era, especially considering he himself admitted his career would have been different if he had to face a zone defense.