 Jordan was a shooting guard who was also capable of playing as a small forward ( the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards ) , and as a point guard . Jordan was known throughout his career for being a strong clutch performer . With the Bulls , he decided 25 games with field goals or free throws in the last 30 seconds , including two NBA Finals games and five other playoff contests . His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash @-@ talk and well @-@ known work ethic . As the Bulls organization built the franchise around Jordan , management had to trade away players who were not " tough enough " to compete with him in practice . To help improve his defense , he spent extra hours studying film of opponents . On offense , he relied more upon instinct and improvisation at game time . Noted as a durable player , Jordan did not miss four or more games while active for a full season from 1986 – 87 to 2001 – 02 , when he injured his right knee . He played all 82 games nine times . Jordan has frequently cited David Thompson , Walter Davis , and Jerry West as influences . From the start of his career , Jordan was unique among NBA players in that he had a special " Love of the Game <unk> " written into his contract , which allowed him to play basketball against anyone at any time , anywhere . 
