possessions/slower pace. then add in that he'd have certainly added a 3 to his arsenal AND with more shooters on his team to open up the lane...it's not so crazy. ok, maybe 50 is a little crazy. ha. but he's MJ. i'd believe anything. he had 28.7 as a 34 year old when guys couldn't take care of themselves like they do today.
basketball stats have to be looked at much differently than other sports. when teams are regularly in the 130s in 2019 but in the 80s in the MJ era, but still shooting at a high %, there is something going on there. it's the same thing with ball in the 60s. you can throw their stats out the window based on possessions alone.