How Similar Was Michael Jordan to Andrew Toney? Exploring the Two Prolific Scorers After Larry Bird’s Shooting Guard Comparison

Michael Jordan is a terrifying opponent to face on the court. Although Jordan was extremely competitive and resilient, an opponent that he was never able to get the better of was Larry Bird. Larry Bird is one of the few players who has a winning record against the Chicago Bulls legend.

Although he was one of the greatest of his time, Bird never shied away from showing appreciation for his opponents. Larry Bird, in his book Drive: The Story of My Life, revealed that there was someone else besides Michael Jordan that he was terrified of facing on the court.

Michael Jordan was not the only one, according to Larry Bird

The Boston Celtics were far too much for Jordan to handle in his early years in the NBA. Yet, Larry Bird was terrified of Jordan every time he faced him. But Bird revealed in his book that Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Andre Toney was another shooting guard who gave him the same sensation.

Bird wrote, “With the exception of Michael Jordan, I have never been more afraid of an opponent at the shooting guard position than Andrew Toney.“

According to Basketball Network, Bird felt like Toney could get a bucket any time the team needed him to get one. After facing off against Toney in the playoffs, Bird understood that he was a tough player to guard.

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Bird also said in his book, “To me, there wasn’t much of a difference between the two when it came to the sheer ability to score.“

Toney only played in the NBA for eight seasons. He averaged over 20 points in only one season of his career. Yet Bird thinks that he is on par with Jordan. Although his scoring average for Toney was way below Michael Jordan’s, his shooting splits were comparatively better than Jordan’s.

Why didn’t Andre Toney score as much as Michael Jordan?

Although Toney was a great player and shot the ball well, he was never the first option on his team. He has always had players like Charles Barkley, Julius Erving, and Moses Malone on his team who were taking the majority of the shots.

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By the team he was ascending further as a player, his knees gave out, and he had to retire early by the age of 30 due to injuries.

When we compare the first four seasons of both players, Jordan averaged over 32 points, while Toney averaged just 17.5 points. But since Jordan was the number one option on his team, he was averaging over 10 more shots per game than Toney. Furthermore, Toney was also a three-point shooter even in his early days, while Jordan had to develop that later in his career.

What do you think of Larry Bird placing Michael Jordan and Andrew Toney in the same category? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!