@@jasonlim7427 Absolutely. The coordination, hustle and hands it took to go from a crazy defensive play to an offensive score is about as difficult as it gets going full speed.
@Ulysses432 True but even if they had done it, the fact that Jordan was displying this type of dominance as a guard on a professional level is more amazing. Averaging 37, getting 200 steals and 100 blocks and then doing it again the following season while averaging 35 is insane. But you are spot on man.
The guy can defend the post, the perimeter, the passing lanes. He even recovers quickly the very few times he gets beat off the dribble and still manages to get the block or swipe. No weaknesses on defense, a boatload of offensive arsenal, compounded with the heart and mentality of an assassin. How can that not be the greatest?!
@@Julian-rt9qs Barkley, Bird, Hawkings, Parish, Ewing just some of the bigs he guarded here. Not to mention all the guards like Isaiah. You don't see this kind of defense by Lebron.
@@richarddavis5289 Lebron has guarded Dirk, Duncan, Durant, Pau, Carmelo. And to throw a guard in there, he lost some battles but he definitely won a few when he had to guard Derrick Rose.
Let this sink in for a second, A SG finished 7X in the top 5 for DPOY. And 3X he was the runner up an also led the league in SPG 3X as well. That's why his peers said he was the best defensive player of their era.
Been watching Mike live since 1984 and can say that many, if not most, of his fastbreak points came off his defense. Mike was an attacker. He attacked on offense and defense. He made things happen, not wait for them.
Wis Dom word. Anyone that hates MJ isn’t a true basketball fan. The man embodies the essence of basketball and its fundamentals along with the mental approach born from the love of the game of basketball.
Preach man. You don't have to be classified an MJ fan. We just know the best cause we've witnessed it and just cannot simply deny it. Grew up as a Magic fan, but Mike is that vibe that we all know is close to basketball heaven.
I'm 31 years old and that final game six Utah still brings me back to being 10 years old yelling at the TV screen and getting goosebumps after that steal. Jordan made you want to be great in life. No matter what you did. Thanks for the memories 23.
Probably the greatest defensive shooting guard in history. This is where he really separated himself from most of the all time greats, especially Lebron who wasn't close to Jordan as a defensive player.
@@VK-el3of too bad their wasn’t many wing scorers he held on a nightly basis. I get it tho he is very active but most of his steals and blocks are due to nobody playing outside of the 3PT line lol but he is a great defender tho.
I really tried to keep this video under 10 minutes but it was impossible. I literally had over an hour of GREAT footage but had to cut it short. Even 15 minutes does not due him justice. I'll be making a, "Greatest 2 way, end to end" video soon showing only his steal to dunk/layup clips. That should due him some justice to go along with his block shots vid I made.
Michael simply had no weaknesses as a player and even then he constantly worked tirelessly to sharpen his skills each year even though he was already the best in the NBA. Simply phenomenal!!
@@jimjim3979 mj was fearless he dunked on everyone.. yes he got blocked as well but he’d come down the very next play and challenge that man again.. I watched him steal the ball from Robinson on an inbounds play take his gather and crammed on Robinson straight up!! He challenged every great shot blocker.. I see a lot of people say these guys were better shot blockers and name centres and power forwards.. that’s what they supposed to do lol.. no other sg was blocking shots like MJ was.. Hakeem was one of the best 2 way players as well I loved watching Hakeem and MJ growing up!!
No wonder he wanted to play by himself. So much energy. The ability to do it all. I wish they made a bunch of documentaries about this young Jordan, before the rings.
Another thing about his defense was he moved his feet well, knew your weaknesses and he swiped upward, not downward. Upwards and the ref can't call a foul. Dude was so smart.
Bob Sacamento It's so crazy that Jordan has the most scoring titles and the most All Defensive First Team selections. And that defense, DPOY, 3x steals leader and the only player with more than 1 season putting up 100+ blocked shots and 200+ steals.
Jordan’s the best SG in the history of the NBA the best defensive SG to ever play the game (10x All Defense selections & 1988 Defensive Player of the year) he was a winner and a legend 6x Champion 6x Finals MVP (all-time Record) 5x League MVP 10x scoring leader When it comes to winning, Jordan’s under the same breath as a Magic Johnson a Larry Bird a Bill Russell a Julius Erving a Tim Duncan & a Wilt Chamberlain
This is why he's the goat no one compares to this man he brought defense intensity every night if his shot wasn't falling his defense could lead to buckets in the open court people don't realize he is the best offensive/defensive player on the court how many players can you say that about? Being the best on both ends it's a joke to even mention others in the same breath as this man
TheRaidernation33 ... if you get past jordan somehow, he either uses his big hands, or his speed, or his catlike jumping ability or .... just too many weapons in this guy's arsenal.... notice how quickly he gains speed after a steal to get himself on the other side... he is the perfect bball player
Bob Sacamento No, he just FOULS. A lot of these plays were rightfully called fouls at the time because they were. Pay attention closely and you'll see Jordan complaining.
He's energy is unbelievable!he's like the bunny in energizer commercial!leading the league in scoring 10x and steals 3x! Usually scorer doesn't play much defense they just wanna spend their energy scoring but not MJ he's all over the court..
Arvin Sosmena Yup, I mean the guy won defensive player of the year, WHAT! also check out and learn more about Wilt Chamberlain that man is one of the greatest athletes to be born
He was so good.u can hear how the crowd is electrified with every steal.the true goat it's not even close.theres no debate it's just Jordan then the rest......
Just a little stat facts for those who care here. In 1988 Jordan led the League in scoring while also winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award. I will post that again, in case you didn't catch it the first time. Jordan led the League in scoring while also winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award!!! Please fathom what time of focus, energy and effort that took to accomplish all year long. No one has ever achieved that feat before or since. Also, winning the MVP of the league that year as well. (Respect is due to Wilt Chamberlain who may have achieved it but they didn't keep alot of statistical categories back then)
he led the league in steals that year also, and won slam dunk contest, all star mvp, 1st team all defense, 1st team all nba, blocks by a guard, and had 200 +steals and 100+ blks in that season too .. insane!
Dude blkdiesel a true player don't care about stats because he will only care for winning. He will do everything in his mental and physical capacity to win which will motivate his team mates to do the same thing then good stats come in.. if your a true fan.basketball good stats=winning. Then people say about lbj.. lbj steal the role from his team mates which make them not confident when the post season comes in.. its just my analysis. Lbj doesn't play to win championship.. he only play for stats then that personal stats=losing.. you cannot play all the position including the coach just to take the game for yourself.. trust your team mates.. respect their talents and motivate them=true leader. Blaming is only for uneducated man who only think of himself..
Dominic dominic what a overrated stats lol... He led that in only 7 games series..... So if that is ur logic then westbrook is so much greater than lebron cuz he has triple double in a whole season and lebron cant do that lol
I never saw a game where Michael played bad or even sub-par defense. Otoh, LeBron's defense in the ENTIRE FINAL SERIES this year was beyond bad. It was disgraceful
Random Palmtop Gaming Lmao. Jordans defense was shitty in games and series. You definitely didn't see all of his shit. Relax. He's human. Dude use to get torched on defense before he made all defensive teams, and after that.
true. LeBron was outscored in 4 of 8 NBA Finals by the other teams top perimeter scorer and outscored by Paul George in the 2014 ECF. Leonard shot 65% when guarded by LeBron in the 2014 Finals according to ESPN "MVP Leonard Does it All" after only having 13 ppg on 52% for the season and 13 ppg on 48% for Rounds 1-3 of the 2014 Playoffs. Jordan is far greater than LeBron on the defensive end.
jmaal2345 Jordan played 2 full seasons before making all defensive 1st team and winning DPOY his rookie season and his 3rd season. In his third he had 200+ steals, 100+ blocks and 3045 points. Jordan said if I wasn’t called on to score so much I could show more of what I’m capable of doing on defense and all around. He never was not called upon to score the most for his team he lead them in scoring every playoff series of his career and only got out scored by an opponent in 1 of his career by 1 total point and only 1 teammate ever averaged more points for a season it was his last at 40 years after retiring for a total of 5 years which throws your instincts and feel for the game off which Jordan relied heavily on. Show us series or a series of dudes scoring 30 per game against Jordan going at Jordan in isolation sets, not just pick and rolls and catch and shoot, cut situations, where the system the offense runs is partly responsible for their scoring and the players they play with drawing double teams and kicking out to them for open looks in late rotations in a series????? I’ll wait. They will need a bunch of free throws to help them if you can find one and helluva teammates because Jordan was always competitive on both ends. He gambled a lot early on especially early in games trying to help teammates defend and force turnovers and that’s most likely when the other players were scoring when you claim he was torched. Also refs called a lot of fouls on Jordan. To be a star he stayed in a lot of foul trouble like I never seen a star be in foul trouble before or after.
...in what world is LeBron a better all-round player than Jordan???...1987--88 season where he was Defensive Player of the Year and MVP tells me all I need to know...
He wasn't the best defender that year. He simply led the league in steals. Hakeem Olajuwon was the best defensive player in the NBA that season. He led the NBA in defensive rating, defensive win shares, and was third in defensive box plus/minus. Jordan was not even in the Top 10 in defensive rating or defensive box plus/minus because he gave up a ton of cheap points to his man by gambling so much to get steals and blocks.
Ah, yes, the "Gar Heard" card. You know NOTHING about Garfield Heard, so you have no idea how good he was defensively, how well he moved his feet, how well he studied his opponents, how well he adjusted in game. ALL you know he is not a big name. I think you were the one who argued Andrei Kirilenko was a slouch and should not have been rated so highly defensively without understanding he was one of the greatest all around defenders ever. But, even with Gar Heard, defensive metrics usually validate the best defenders. Look at the leaders for the year Jordan "won" DPOY: Note these are all great defenders. Defensive Rating 1. Hakeem Olajuwon* • HOU 98.0 2. Mark Eaton • UTA 100.7 3. Karl Malone* • UTA 100.8 4. Roy Tarpley • DAL 101.0 5. Patrick Ewing* • NYK 101.3 Here are the leaders in Defensive Box plus minus for 1987-88. Defensive Box Plus/Minus 1. Mark Eaton • UTA 5.0 2. Benoit Benjamin • LAC 4.3 3. Hakeem Olajuwon* • HOU 3.3 4. John Salley • DET 3.3 5. Patrick Ewing* • NYK 3.2 They are all GREAT defenders. Note Jordan is missing. Here are the leaders for Defensive win shares: Defensive Win Shares 1. Hakeem Olajuwon* • HOU 6.3 2. Karl Malone* • UTA 6.1 3. Michael Jordan* • CHI 6.1 4. Mark Eaton • UTA 5.2 5. Bill Laimbeer • DET
Note Jordan shows up third in Defensive win shares, the most interesting category of the defensive metrics. Now, defensive win shares are an interesting beast, and rewards the individual player for the TEAM success. Look at the Bulls defense from 1987-88, Pippen and Grant's rookie season: www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/1988.html 1987-88 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats Record: 50-32, Finished 2nd in NBA Central Division Coach: Doug Collins (50-32) Executive: Jerry Krause PTS/G: 105.0 (19th of 23) Opp PTS/G: 101.6 (1st of 23) SRS: 3.76 (5th of 23) Pace: 95.5 (23rd of 23) Notice it? They were a TERRIBLE, plodding offense, last in the NBA in pace and points per game. But, because they played so slow, opponents had the lowest points per game against them. Here is a really good article on that. It points out how certain players going from a great team to a mediocre defensive on suffer a huge drop in defensive win shares, giving several examples. Jordan rode the coat tail of the Bull,s great defenders, Pippen, Grant, and Cartwright thast season, and the ONLY metric he showed up on was the one that rewarded that: ascreamingcomesacrossthecourt.blogspot.com/2013/04/defensive-win-shares-are-completely.html
T K Pippen took 4 full seasons to make an all defensive team and was 2nd team took 5 to make all defensive 1st team. He was a helluva defender but all of Pippen game took years to develop.
he's not just doing a steal or a block. he's doing fucking combos. im a gamer so i see - block, steal, score - block, score, steal score - stand between 3 players on the offensive, run to each one of them and eventually get a steal in 2nd overtime. him flying by with a judo chop, misses, comes back in with full power, BLOCKED! so powerful, the would be dunker couldnt handle it, laid flat on his ass
For fans today who may not understand the kind of defender Jordan was, look at Kawhi Leonard in his absolute prime. Kawhi built his entire career around being "The Claw." The scouting report on Kawhi is that his hands are so large that he is able to use that "claw" to get steals and disrupt ballhandlers and thats what allows him to be an elite defender. Kawhi has the same size hands as Jordan (MJ's was actually ever so slightly larger, quarter of an inch). The second indication of Jordan's defensive prowess comes from his original nickname -- The Black Cat. This nickname came from his sublime reactions and that reaction and agility was on display in this video with the number of times he stole the entry pass while guarding the ballhandler on the perimeter (it may not be as sexy as his dunks or as graceful as his fadeaway J, but him crouching in a defensive stance and in a split second jumping straight up to steal an entry pass is the most impressive on court feat I've seen him do on a consistent basis). The third indication is his well known competitive nature. Add it all up and he had the size, athleticism, and one of kind drive to dominate the game on both sides of the court and a lot of people today forget that. Their memory of Jordan comes from "The Last Dance" and Wizard years and they don't realize that from roughly '88 to '92 MJ was on a different level from anyone to ever play the game.
its funny how they quit on him when his speeding towards the basket off a steal. that was the jordan rule: "just let him go", there's nothing you can do to stop him.
11:19 The so-called best player in 20118-2019 may have gone for first block, but that second one? Nah. Today's players would just give up this layup. Damn I miss Mike.
It is an insult to MJ to put LeBron James in the conversation as the GOAT. LeBron ain't nowhere the MJ. He is unreal and Jordan's highlight when he was young crazy! Too fast and too good!
His agility and lateral quickness is off the charts. His first step is still considered one the best ever. Just like Kenny Smith always say.. MJ is the first real freakishly athletic player that is also sooo fundamentally sound.
more like: kawhi hands (mj i think has bigger) giannis wingspan pre-injury drose athleticism westbrook tenacity durants shooting dwade defensive tenacity (but mj is much better and im a dwade fan) kobe footwork (mj is also better well he is the original) just my take
Jamás habra otro como él, jamás. Y yo fui una privilegiada por poder disfrutar, emocionarme con sus jugadas espectaculares y también sufrir algunos reveses.... Aun me emociono al ver videos de él 😍😍😍
They call every single boy/girl bands an 'idol' here in korea even if they have nothing to learn from them. Clearly they don't know what 'idol' truly means. Just about any younsters get treated like idols regardless of what they've achieved. Very weird..
See this is exactly why MJ was definitely qualified to say what he did in reference to my boi Kawhi the KLAW Leonard being the best two way player in the league, they didn't want to see Kawhi 3-peat the politics of all Draymon doesn't guard the other teams player and hardly can keep up with faster or shiftier guards without help.
Great video!! I am sitting here after living this and thinking of all who labeled him as simply a scorer or just a high flying dunker. Did it ever occur to them that he was on a lot a fast breaks dunking the ball HE JUST STOLE AN /OR BLOCKED?!!! That would mean he was playing defense and with all the fast break footage apparently A LOT OF DAMN DEFENSE!! And the title says "one of the best" not the one and only. Back then people actually played both sides of the ball. It was a thing!
I swear, every argument for LeBron can be debunked so easily because MJ is THE GREATEST, and I say this as a sixteen year old, and I mean every single one MJ is the better all round player, is a top two way player ranking amongst likes of Hakeem, Wilt, David Robinson, and had court vision on par with Larry Bird, Magic, and LeBron as well if he played pg like the 41 games in 88-89 season (where he averaged something like 31 points, 9.4 assists, 8 something rebounds, and had a seven game triple double stretch, much longer than the bloated one LeBron had last year of three games at which ESPN fell over their chairs, and had ten triple double games out of a stretch of eleven), his stats would be more complete and one can only imagine what absurd stats he would have by completely dominating even smaller guards on d as a point guard people rave on and on about LeBron's longevity when MJ was a all star a week before his 40th birthday, and still gave 20+ pt games he came in after his second retirement to average 30 ppg for the first twenty games or so at age 38 before injuries rubbed in Not to mention a 51 pt game at 38 and 40+pt game at over age 40 Just switch LeBron being selected in 1984 and MJ in 2003, and imagine the career trajectories if both had the exact same teammates season by season and played same amount of seasons Do you doubt MJ wouldn't make it past Magic in 2010 to the NBA Finals, or get shut down by Shawn Marion in 2011, lose to a third year Kawhi and old trio of Timmy D, Manu, Tony If LeBron can lead the Cavs with spectacular and monsterous performances in 2015 to game 7 with Love and Kyrie out due to injuries, why did it take him same number of games to beat Warriors WITH those two all stars Simply put, LeBron was amazing in 2015, enough to even deserve Finals MVP, but he had bad performances early in 2016 NBA finals, and he never was suppsoed to be down 3-1 because Cavaliers clearly had the better leader in James, an even duo to contest the Splash bros, a better trio, albeit not as deep roster MJ retired as the MVP in 1998 at age 35, same age LeBron is now but people continue to rank LeBron higher solely due to longevity Why is it that MJ has a better fg percentage as a guard? Not to mention MJ leading guards in blocks... you can go on and on and on and on and on, but fact remains, if MJ had retired in 1998, he would have an even better PER and ppg career average and so and so on in almost every single argument, MJ is the clearcut GOAT
People used to overlook his defense for sure because he was so great offensively. People also used to think he was awarded all these defensive awards because he's "Michael Jordan". This video proves them wrong.
Jordan will never get the full credit he deserves for his defensive dominance. He was the one that guarded the best player most often, not Scottie. “Michael Jordan *always took it to a point that he wanted to guard the best player* even with myself, even if I start talking trash to him he would always tell Scottie Pippen ‘look, I’m taking Gary tonight’,” Payton told First Take. “He would always take the best basketball player..." - Former Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton and with Harper injured in the middle 3 games of the 1996 Finals, Jordan was the one against whom Payton mainly struggled offensively in that series, after a great first 3 rounds. Isiah, Drexler, KJ, Payton, Stockton, Tim Hardaway, Penny, Rice, Steve Smith, Reggie, Rod Strickland, all struggled much more when guarded by Jordan in Playoffs or Finals series. Players like Joe Dumars 1991 and Terry Porter 1992 had huge playoff averages entering series against the Bulls but got shut down against Jordan. Even in the instances where a perimeter player had better averages against the Bulls, they were mainly lighting up the PGs like Paxson, Vincent, Hodges, Armstrong, Kerr, Harper, or Brown and struggled with Jordan switching on to them. Ricky Pierce had the highest scoring average of any 6th Man in history (23 PPG) in 1990, but got shut down every time Jordan switched on to him in the 1990 Playoffs despite his great series averages. Another good example is Reggie having 22 points on 7/12 FG through 3 quarters in Game 7, but 0 points and 1 shot attempt with Jordan switching on to him in the 4th quarter to win the series. Countless examples of Isiah, Drexler, etc. lighting up the other Bulls only for Jordan to switch on to them and shut it down. The only reason people believe that Pippen guarded the best player is because of Game 2 of the 1991 Finals (and Jordan still primarily guarded Magic for the overall series). and Magic never "lit up" Jordan consistently. Jordan also held Magic to 0-0-0 on 0/2 FG with 2 TOs in the overtime of Game 3 with Pippen fouling out at the end of the 4th quarter. In Game 5 Magic shot in the 30s and Jordan played a hand in all 6 of his turnovers, as well as more that were not credited to Magic himself. In only a few series did Pippen mainly guard the best player - Dominique 1993, Penny 1996, Rice 1998, and Jordan still did the better job when guarding the latter 2 for shorter stretches. Penny had 1 total point on Jordan in the 1996 ECF, and Rice only made 1 FG on Jordan in the whole 1998 ECSF. MJ only guarded Nique briefly in 1993, but still did well, albeit too small a sample to compare to Pippen. As far as versatility goes, Jordan also held his own against Barkley, Laettner, and Vlade Divac for isolated stretches. Though nobody could really guard 1-5 besides Pistons Rodman. Real recognizes real, that's why Gregg Popovich, one of the best defensive and overall coaches in history, compared Leonard's perimeter defense to Jordan. Fitting, as they're the 2 best perimeter defenders of their time (and Jordan the best perimeter defender ever) "He has the ability to do what a Michael Jordan did at both ends. I don’t mean he’s Michael Jordan, but *Michael played both ends of the floor*... You think about the best players in the league, *they’re not two-way players*. He wants to do that, and he stays after it every day." - Popovich comparing Leonard's defensive dominance to Michael Jordan's 1988-1993 and 1996-1998 Bulls always ranked 1 or 2 in least playoff PPG allowed (minimum 10 games played) under Jordan's leadership. Even as a Wizard, Jordan shut down Paul Pierce and Vince Carter, two of the top scorers in the 2001/02 season. and the Wizards had very good defensive numbers prior to Jordan getting injured in his 46th game of the season. Immediately after the injury, their W-L record and defensive numbers plummeted. Jordan's defensive accolades - 9x All-D 1st Team (T-record with Payton, Kobe, Garnett) - 10x Top 8 in DPOY voting (T-record with Duncan, Hakeem, Garnett) - 7x top 5 in DPOY voting (9x Mutombo, 9x Robinson, 8x Hakeem, 7x Rodman) - 3rd place in 1992 DPOY (Robinson, Rodman) - 2nd place in 1993 DPOY (Hakeem) - 1988 DPOY (ahead of Hakeem, Eaton, Cooper, Robertson, Ewing) - 10 Playoffs averaging 2+ steals/game (record) - 3 steals titles Are fully deserved, corroborated by the eye test, defensive matchups, opposing players consistently struggling, and never because of media hype or popularity. Kobe and LeBron would have matched that if that's what it came down to. At the very least, you have to rank Jordan one spot ahead of Pippen as perimeter defenders, since they faced the same opponents and Jordan usually guarded and did the better job against the best player.
Most of superstar today focus on offense only. Rarely on defense. Focusing of outscoring opponent like GSW thats why they had a hard time on clippers.. Bulls 90 is still the best both offense ans defense. Less the weak nba rules today
Jordan was a great defender his whole career but through the early 90s he was so damn fast with his lateral movement that he could recover on almost anything plus get ahead of anyone on the fast break with two dribbles.
@@DickTahshon I think he's been tested faster than that. But, I meant in the moment I saw. Have you ever ran for a reason? Had a reason to run? I've gone all out once where I shocked myself. Chased two kids down as a joke. I acted like they were too far away. They were down the street a ways, and slightly around the corner. So I look away, then bolt for them in an animalistic way. They were about 50 yards away. I caught them before they went anywhere. Fastest I ever ran. I did it for fun. As competition? I never cared for tests.
Imagine being defensive player of the year while scoring leader of 35 points a game while leading the NBA in steals and yes, that was season in 1987-88
Not even halfway through this video. Lebron, kobe, whoever comparisons. Watch this video and stop comparing. He did this every game. Lebron isn't this. kobe isn't even this.
I thought leonard is the greatest when it comes to D but i change my mind after watching this... Jordan looks better because he can block everywhere....
I would hate it when the homies would compare our games, he was 100% offensive minded: I just wanted to do whatever my team needed to have the edge. I would look at the team stats at HALFTIME to see what areas our opponents had the edge in. Rebounds, Assists, Steal, Block Shots, Fouls: I knew it was the only way to take away their momentum. He was multi dimensional in his game, didn’t telegraph his intentions: drive past you, post you up and overpower you, shoot the midrange, triple team him pass, and shot high percentage from free throw line. And then turnaround on defense and GUARD YOU to take your remaining energy, if that wasn’t enough SWITCH to TWO and play off the ball TO MAKE YOU RUN SOME MORE until your LUNGS FEEL LIKE THEY ARE ABOUT TO COLLAPSE.
HANEÈPP!! ANG LUPIT NAMAN mj sayang !walang libreng nba sa phillipìnes nung alaw ngaun ko lang napanuod mga laro mo putik!! Wala na akong nakita sa nba ngayun faves ko ckyrie,lebron love,MJ=GOAT
Theres even a moments that mj's hand is faster than the eye..ul just wonder how the ball went to his hands and you cant pin him down on the low post his very high b.ball i.q would make way to anticipate your passing lane
Gotta say it again...as I watch these highlights, they look phenomenal. *But* when I look a bit closer, it's clear this era of the NBA is not what it is today. Guys are nowhere near as physically gifted...slow, unathletic, not even all that aggressive when positioning for the ball sometimes. What I'm seeing more and more is that Jordan was ahead of his time. His physical gifts and skill belong in today's league where he can compete against people who, at least physically, will provide a better measuring stick. The more I see MJ highlights in this forever-discussion of who's the GOAT, the more I see Jordan had it easy in terms of the overall league competition. in addition to his skills being greater than everyone else's, he was physically lightyears ahead of virtually everyone.
If nobody can guard Kawhi in today's NBA, and if Kawhi can guard Giannis in today's NBA, what do you think Jordan will and can do? Athletic does not mean better. In fact Kawhi is a little slower than Jordan and Kawhi is at his peak. With zone defense allowed today, do you think Jordan will not be smart enough to clog your passing lanes? He did it when illegal defense was still enforced in the rules, yet he still got so many intercepted passes in his prime.
EVERY one of these plays involve Jordan reaching on, running into the path of the offensive player, reaching around the inbound pass and gambling and risk taking in a way you DON'T teach defense. When it works, it looks spectacular. When it fails--which is most of the time--Jordan either picks up a foul or gives up an open look. Most of the time, his player gets into the paint and gets the big men in foul trouble. This was why his teams were below .500 EVERY season. It was when Pippen joined the team and brought great, sound position defense--you know, moving your feet, keeping a wide base, no reaching, no gambling, no going for the spectacular ooh play--that the Bulls finally started winning. Horace Grant's mobility and interior defense and shot blocking is also underrated. Go back and watch the 1992 Finals. Clyde Drexler, who ONLY went right literally walked by Jordan on every other play, and it was Grant, Pippen, and Scott Williams that kept blocking his shot.
Yeah man, its when 9 ppg bench player Pippen joined that team that the Bulls started winning. So much so that for the Bulls to go past the Cavs in 1987 Jordan had to average 45.2 ppg when the next 5 Bulls combined averaged 45.4 Phil Jackson wrote this on Mike "He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense" Admit you dont know what the fuck you're talking about
How many times does he turn a defensive block into an offensive basket, that last one against the Jazz, when he got the steal you could hear the collective groan of the Jazz fans in that arena, because everyone in Utah knew where that ball was going!
Imagine being 10x scoring champ and 9x all-nba defense. Unreal
Lol crazy. Dude has as many defensive awards as scoring titles.
The stamina it took to be an offensive and defensive beast.
@@jasonlim7427 Absolutely. The coordination, hustle and hands it took to go from a crazy defensive play to an offensive score is about as difficult as it gets going full speed.
@Ulysses432 Dude, David Robinson did this in the same era. So did Hakeem. Get off the guys's junk!
@Ulysses432 True but even if they had done it, the fact that Jordan was displying this type of dominance as a guard on a professional level is more amazing. Averaging 37, getting 200 steals and 100 blocks and then doing it again the following season while averaging 35 is insane. But you are spot on man.
Only a handful of players in NBA history had 200 steals and 100 blocks in a single season. Only 1 player did it twice.
YoshimizRobots Not even a handful only 2 did it before. But like you said only 1 person did it twice.
+suntansuperman26 Not even before, after. MJ is officially the first to do it.
D-Wade did it in 08-09, right ?
+Lucas Simonetti No, D-Wade has never reached 200 steals in a season.
Hakeem and MJ are the only two.
The guy can defend the post, the perimeter, the passing lanes. He even recovers quickly the very few times he gets beat off the dribble and still manages to get the block or swipe. No weaknesses on defense, a boatload of offensive arsenal, compounded with the heart and mentality of an assassin. How can that not be the greatest?!
Also great fundamentals and along with Hakeem the best footwork BY FAR.
he's defending some bums in these highlights tho...
@@Julian-rt9qs Barkley, Bird, Hawkings, Parish, Ewing just some of the bigs he guarded here. Not to mention all the guards like Isaiah. You don't see this kind of defense by Lebron.
I agree defense is something any player can do offense comes and goes you have to want to do it
@@richarddavis5289 Lebron has guarded Dirk, Duncan, Durant, Pau, Carmelo. And to throw a guard in there, he lost some battles but he definitely won a few when he had to guard Derrick Rose.
Imagine the energy and focus required to drop 30+ on teams and also have the defensive intensity that Jordan had... Only the GOAT.
Let this sink in for a second, A SG finished 7X in the top 5 for DPOY. And 3X he was the runner up an also led the league in SPG 3X as well. That's why his peers said he was the best defensive player of their era.
and 10x he was top 8 in DPOY, tied with Hakeem, Garnett Duncan. The only perimeter player to be on that level defensively.
WHOA!!
Been watching Mike live since 1984 and can say that many, if not most, of his fastbreak points came off his defense. Mike was an attacker. He attacked on offense and defense. He made things happen, not wait for them.
perfect comment
MJ and Pippen made a living out of converting steals into fastbreak points
I don't believe in the term "MJ Fans". Because anyone who appreciates REAL basketball has a right to love MJ.
THASSA FIZZACT !💯👍🏽👍🏽
Wis Dom word. Anyone that hates MJ isn’t a true basketball fan. The man embodies the essence of basketball and its fundamentals along with the mental approach born from the love of the game of basketball.
WELL SAID....."thank you"
Well said
Preach man. You don't have to be classified an MJ fan. We just know the best cause we've witnessed it and just cannot simply deny it. Grew up as a Magic fan, but Mike is that vibe that we all know is close to basketball heaven.
Funny thing is the fact he liked playing defense more than scoring the ball
My goodness. His blocks are heart crushing. I’ve never seen a guard attack and block that ferociously.
And he seemingly hung in the air on his blocks just as he did on his dunks. Its like he jumped up, cocked his arm back and waited for you
I'm 31 years old and that final game six Utah still brings me back to being 10 years old yelling at the TV screen and getting goosebumps after that steal. Jordan made you want to be great in life. No matter what you did. Thanks for the memories 23.
Probably the greatest defensive shooting guard in history. This is where he really separated himself from most of the all time greats, especially Lebron who wasn't close to Jordan as a defensive player.
Not only as defensive player simply as player.
Probably the GOAT Perimeter Defender
LeBron James has nothing to do with this video tho.
IMO he is the best wing defender of all time.
@@VK-el3of too bad their wasn’t many wing scorers he held on a nightly basis. I get it tho he is very active but most of his steals and blocks are due to nobody playing outside of the 3PT line lol but he is a great defender tho.
Only 1 player in NBA history has led the league scoring, recorded 100 blocks & 200 steals in the same season... & MICHAEL JORDAN DID IT TWICE!! 🐐
I really tried to keep this video under 10 minutes but it was impossible. I literally had over an hour of GREAT footage but had to cut it short. Even 15 minutes does not due him justice. I'll be making a, "Greatest 2 way, end to end" video soon showing only his steal to dunk/layup clips. That should due him some justice to go along with his block shots vid I made.
Great job, look forward to the next!
Michael simply had no weaknesses as a player and even then he constantly worked tirelessly to sharpen his skills each year even though he was already the best in the NBA. Simply phenomenal!!
A video about MJ stripping the ball would also be nice...He was the best ever at it.
Ball Is Life
He practically did this every single game.
One hour extended version, PLEASE. Defense is the best way to destroy opponent's confidence and make them fear of you.
Even at age 38 and up. He can still play defense and score 40+.
Thats right Socia
Mike loved blocking the 7-footers too! LOL Dream, Ewing, The Admiral, Zo, anybody who was anybody felt the wrath!🔥🔥🔥
Actually Robinson would block him when they played
@@jimjim3979 mj was fearless he dunked on everyone.. yes he got blocked as well but he’d come down the very next play and challenge that man again.. I watched him steal the ball from Robinson on an inbounds play take his gather and crammed on Robinson straight up!! He challenged every great shot blocker.. I see a lot of people say these guys were better shot blockers and name centres and power forwards.. that’s what they supposed to do lol.. no other sg was blocking shots like MJ was.. Hakeem was one of the best 2 way players as well I loved watching Hakeem and MJ growing up!!
watching this idk see how people think Bron is a better athlete or defender than Jordan
Bronfanbois are some of the most clueless bunch.
The only acceptable answers are they haven't seen Jordan's entire career or they don't care about facts.
Jordan is not only the best scorer of all time he is also 3rd best stealer in History!
chris wilso No one said LeBron is a better defender.
jmaal2345 LeBron fan's do actually. they say he is "better" and more versatile
No wonder he wanted to play by himself. So much energy. The ability to do it all.
I wish they made a bunch of documentaries about this young Jordan, before the rings.
Another thing about his defense was he moved his feet well, knew your weaknesses and he swiped upward, not downward. Upwards and the ref can't call a foul. Dude was so smart.
Marcus Thomas he also has very long arms and hands so he can swipe it from the offensive players back
Greatest ever.... mj's defense is arguably better than his offense!!
Bob Sacamento I won't go that far!! LOL Mike was the most prolific and creative scorer in NBA history.
HoustonIsImmortal .. true but u can see what I mean with his defense
Bob Sacamento His offense is superior.
jmaal2345 .. of course it is, thats why I said arguably... basically im saying his defense is so bloody good that its comparable to his offense
Bob Sacamento It's so crazy that Jordan has the most scoring titles and the most All Defensive First Team selections. And that defense, DPOY, 3x steals leader and the only player with more than 1 season putting up 100+ blocked shots and 200+ steals.
Even on defense, Jordan moved gracefully. Jordan was like a cat. Light on his feet, but super explosive and lightning quick reflexes.
Very late reply but his original nickname was Black Cat
Jordan’s the best SG in the history of the NBA
the best defensive SG to ever play the game
(10x All Defense selections & 1988 Defensive Player of the year)
he was a winner and a legend
6x Champion
6x Finals MVP (all-time Record)
5x League MVP
10x scoring leader
When it comes to winning, Jordan’s under the same breath as a Magic Johnson a Larry Bird a Bill Russell a Julius Erving a Tim Duncan & a Wilt Chamberlain
man i am so grateful for these compilations that don't have that hideous music that most do. thank you.
This is why he's the goat no one compares to this man he brought defense intensity every night if his shot wasn't falling his defense could lead to buckets in the open court people don't realize he is the best offensive/defensive player on the court how many players can you say that about? Being the best on both ends it's a joke to even mention others in the same breath as this man
TheRaidernation33 ... if you get past jordan somehow, he either uses his big hands, or his speed, or his catlike jumping ability or .... just too many weapons in this guy's arsenal.... notice how quickly he gains speed after a steal to get himself on the other side... he is the perfect bball player
Bob Sacamento No, he just FOULS. A lot of these plays were rightfully called fouls at the time because they were. Pay attention closely and you'll see Jordan complaining.
TheRaidernation33
Wilt Chamberlain was ridiculous too
He's energy is unbelievable!he's like the bunny in energizer commercial!leading the league in scoring 10x and steals 3x! Usually scorer doesn't play much defense they just wanna spend their energy scoring but not MJ he's all over the court..
Arvin Sosmena
Yup,
I mean the guy won defensive player of the year, WHAT!
also check out and learn more about Wilt Chamberlain that man is one of the greatest athletes to be born
He was so good.u can hear how the crowd is electrified with every steal.the true goat it's not even close.theres no debate it's just Jordan then the rest......
Many of these highlights are amazing, but 7:35 that block on a 7' Ewing was like a video game.... I can't believe it's real.
Just a little stat facts for those who care here. In 1988 Jordan led the League in scoring while also winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award. I will post that again, in case you didn't catch it the first time. Jordan led the League in scoring while also winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award!!! Please fathom what time of focus, energy and effort that took to accomplish all year long. No one has ever achieved that feat before or since. Also, winning the MVP of the league that year as well. (Respect is due to Wilt Chamberlain who may have achieved it but they didn't keep alot of statistical categories back then)
BlkDiesel That's crazy when you really think about it. Leading scorer, DPOY and MVP. Dominance.
he led the league in steals that year also, and won slam dunk contest, all star mvp, 1st team all defense, 1st team all nba, blocks by a guard, and had 200 +steals and 100+ blks in that season too .. insane!
@@ranholic5027, a player, just a guard at that, with such resilience and endurance, that's scary in any era..
Dude blkdiesel a true player don't care about stats because he will only care for winning. He will do everything in his mental and physical capacity to win which will motivate his team mates to do the same thing then good stats come in.. if your a true fan.basketball good stats=winning. Then people say about lbj.. lbj steal the role from his team mates which make them not confident when the post season comes in.. its just my analysis. Lbj doesn't play to win championship.. he only play for stats then that personal stats=losing.. you cannot play all the position including the coach just to take the game for yourself.. trust your team mates.. respect their talents and motivate them=true leader. Blaming is only for uneducated man who only think of himself..
Speaking of Wilt, he put it plain and simple in an interview once stating that, "Every player in the league should give Jordan 10% of their checks".
The man was a beast on both sides of the ball.
In 1988, I believe Jordan Won the league MVP, DPY, All star MVP, and he took home the scoring title. Lebron ain't on his level.
Dominic dominic what a overrated stats lol... He led that in only 7 games series..... So if that is ur logic then westbrook is so much greater than lebron cuz he has triple double in a whole season and lebron cant do that lol
Dominice and chokes at 4th quarter with 8 points ahahhahha
And he never missed the playoffs during his bulls years
and MJ was number 1 in player efficiency that year
Steals leader as well
I never saw a game where Michael played bad or even sub-par defense.
Otoh, LeBron's defense in the ENTIRE FINAL SERIES this year was beyond bad. It was disgraceful
Random Palmtop Gaming Lmao. Jordans defense was shitty in games and series. You definitely didn't see all of his shit. Relax. He's human. Dude use to get torched on defense before he made all defensive teams, and after that.
true. LeBron was outscored in 4 of 8 NBA Finals by the other teams top perimeter scorer and outscored by Paul George in the 2014 ECF. Leonard shot 65% when guarded by LeBron in the 2014 Finals according to ESPN "MVP Leonard Does it All" after only having 13 ppg on 52% for the season and 13 ppg on 48% for Rounds 1-3 of the 2014 Playoffs. Jordan is far greater than LeBron on the defensive end.
jmaal2345 Jordan played 2 full seasons before making all defensive 1st team and winning DPOY his rookie season and his 3rd season. In his third he had 200+ steals, 100+ blocks and 3045 points. Jordan said if I wasn’t called on to score so much I could show more of what I’m capable of doing on defense and all around. He never was not called upon to score the most for his team he lead them in scoring every playoff series of his career and only got out scored by an opponent in 1 of his career by 1 total point and only 1 teammate ever averaged more points for a season it was his last at 40 years after retiring for a total of 5 years which throws your instincts and feel for the game off which Jordan relied heavily on. Show us series or a series of dudes scoring 30 per game against Jordan going at Jordan in isolation sets, not just pick and rolls and catch and shoot, cut situations, where the system the offense runs is partly responsible for their scoring and the players they play with drawing double teams and kicking out to them for open looks in late rotations in a series????? I’ll wait. They will need a bunch of free throws to help them if you can find one and helluva teammates because Jordan was always competitive on both ends. He gambled a lot early on especially early in games trying to help teammates defend and force turnovers and that’s most likely when the other players were scoring when you claim he was torched. Also refs called a lot of fouls on Jordan. To be a star he stayed in a lot of foul trouble like I never seen a star be in foul trouble before or after.
@@Maal7432 That is a damn lie. You are hurt by MJs excellence.
jmaal2345 you lying 🤥😂
MJ would own anyone if he plays in the league today
Am I the only 19 year old who truly believe MJ tha goat
3 years later and I was wrong LeBron is the GOAT
That means you understand the game young man. Jordan by far, not even close, is the GOAT!
no you are not
You have a good basketball understanding. Respect lbj but if were talking about sports. Its about winning..
Mee too love MJ!👍👍👍
Drip Bayless
no im 17 and know he the GOAT
...in what world is LeBron a better all-round player than Jordan???...1987--88 season where he was Defensive Player of the Year and MVP tells me all I need to know...
One of the greatest individual seasons EVER Nnamdi. He also led the league in scoring that year as well.
Nnamdi Onyido lebron a shitty defender
He wasn't the best defender that year. He simply led the league in steals. Hakeem Olajuwon was the best defensive player in the NBA that season. He led the NBA in defensive rating, defensive win shares, and was third in defensive box plus/minus. Jordan was not even in the Top 10 in defensive rating or defensive box plus/minus because he gave up a ton of cheap points to his man by gambling so much to get steals and blocks.
Ah, yes, the "Gar Heard" card. You know NOTHING about Garfield Heard, so you have no idea how good he was defensively, how well he moved his feet, how well he studied his opponents, how well he adjusted in game. ALL you know he is not a big name. I think you were the one who argued Andrei Kirilenko was a slouch and should not have been rated so highly defensively without understanding he was one of the greatest all around defenders ever. But, even with Gar Heard, defensive metrics usually validate the best defenders. Look at the leaders for the year Jordan "won" DPOY: Note these are all great defenders.
Defensive Rating
1. Hakeem Olajuwon* • HOU 98.0
2. Mark Eaton • UTA 100.7
3. Karl Malone* • UTA 100.8
4. Roy Tarpley • DAL 101.0
5. Patrick Ewing* • NYK 101.3
Here are the leaders in Defensive Box plus minus for 1987-88.
Defensive Box Plus/Minus
1. Mark Eaton • UTA 5.0
2. Benoit Benjamin • LAC 4.3
3. Hakeem Olajuwon* • HOU 3.3
4. John Salley • DET 3.3
5. Patrick Ewing* • NYK 3.2
They are all GREAT defenders. Note Jordan is missing. Here are the leaders for Defensive win shares:
Defensive Win Shares
1. Hakeem Olajuwon* • HOU 6.3
2. Karl Malone* • UTA 6.1
3. Michael Jordan* • CHI 6.1
4. Mark Eaton • UTA 5.2
5. Bill Laimbeer • DET
Note Jordan shows up third in Defensive win shares, the most interesting category of the defensive metrics. Now, defensive win shares are an interesting beast, and rewards the individual player for the TEAM success. Look at the Bulls defense from 1987-88, Pippen and Grant's rookie season:
www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/1988.html
1987-88 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats
Record: 50-32, Finished 2nd in NBA Central Division
Coach: Doug Collins (50-32)
Executive: Jerry Krause
PTS/G: 105.0 (19th of 23) Opp PTS/G: 101.6 (1st of 23)
SRS: 3.76 (5th of 23) Pace: 95.5 (23rd of 23)
Notice it? They were a TERRIBLE, plodding offense, last in the NBA in pace and points per game. But, because they played so slow, opponents had the lowest points per game against them. Here is a really good article on that. It points out how certain players going from a great team to a mediocre defensive on suffer a huge drop in defensive win shares, giving several examples. Jordan rode the coat tail of the Bull,s great defenders, Pippen, Grant, and Cartwright thast season, and the ONLY metric he showed up on was the one that rewarded that:
ascreamingcomesacrossthecourt.blogspot.com/2013/04/defensive-win-shares-are-completely.html
He aint the chosen one. He is the one🤣🤣🤣
Air Jordan - Bo Jackson - Deion Sanders - Randy Moss - Barry Sanders - Lawrence Taylor - Prime Wilt Chamberlain- Goats
A 2 guard playing in the era of BIGS and dominating like that is G.O.A.T status...
MJ=GOAT, period.
These kids think Lebrick started the chasedown block. And think he could defend on MJ's level.
And I got to see this guy play live before his prime, and a few times during and after.
What was crazy about the Bulls back then Pippen was also a hellva insane defender. Two defending GOATs.
+ Rodman = Ring
Utube Rodman wasn't even an All star when he joins the Bulls
T K
Jordan, Pippen, Rodman on defense
That's a LOOONG night
T K Pippen took 4 full seasons to make an all defensive team and was 2nd team took 5 to make all defensive 1st team. He was a helluva defender but all of Pippen game took years to develop.
@@TraderHelp101 - Kerr is also a PESKY ONE
Man MJ blocked the entire NBA at that time😳😳😳😳
There will never be another MJ
MJ on defense is equivalent to a cat on a laser pointer.
Jordan defense was incredible he and Scottie the best perimeter defenders ever.
he's not just doing a steal or a block. he's doing fucking combos. im a gamer so i see
- block, steal, score
- block, score, steal score
- stand between 3 players on the offensive, run to each one of them and eventually get a steal in 2nd overtime.
him flying by with a judo chop, misses, comes back in with full power, BLOCKED! so powerful, the would be dunker couldnt handle it, laid flat on his ass
For fans today who may not understand the kind of defender Jordan was, look at Kawhi Leonard in his absolute prime. Kawhi built his entire career around being "The Claw." The scouting report on Kawhi is that his hands are so large that he is able to use that "claw" to get steals and disrupt ballhandlers and thats what allows him to be an elite defender. Kawhi has the same size hands as Jordan (MJ's was actually ever so slightly larger, quarter of an inch).
The second indication of Jordan's defensive prowess comes from his original nickname -- The Black Cat. This nickname came from his sublime reactions and that reaction and agility was on display in this video with the number of times he stole the entry pass while guarding the ballhandler on the perimeter (it may not be as sexy as his dunks or as graceful as his fadeaway J, but him crouching in a defensive stance and in a split second jumping straight up to steal an entry pass is the most impressive on court feat I've seen him do on a consistent basis).
The third indication is his well known competitive nature. Add it all up and he had the size, athleticism, and one of kind drive to dominate the game on both sides of the court and a lot of people today forget that. Their memory of Jordan comes from "The Last Dance" and Wizard years and they don't realize that from roughly '88 to '92 MJ was on a different level from anyone to ever play the game.
its funny how they quit on him when his speeding towards the basket off a steal. that was the jordan rule: "just let him go", there's nothing you can do to stop him.
How can anyone look at these highlights, and compare them to LeBron's, and think LeBron was a better defender, lol.
11:19 The so-called best player in 20118-2019 may have gone for first block, but that second one? Nah. Today's players would just give up this layup. Damn I miss Mike.
Even though it's a choppy video. Prime example. MJ! The best
Mj is the best of the best
It is an insult to MJ to put LeBron James in the conversation as the GOAT. LeBron ain't nowhere the MJ. He is unreal and Jordan's highlight when he was young crazy! Too fast and too good!
You are a delusional old head 🤣😭
This makes him the GOAT
MJ ♾️🐐.
Man....Jordan was like Ed Reed/Dieon Sanders of basketball a stri8 ball Hawk once he got the pick he would take it to the house
Giannis's athleticism, with Westbrook speed...damn.
Montel Chika-Mbonu Better footwork than either of them. More versatile offensively too. Higher IQ.
Lol facts...I could add 2-3 other more current top 15 players best attributes, undoubtedly the GOAT
His agility and lateral quickness is off the charts. His first step is still considered one the best ever. Just like Kenny Smith always say.. MJ is the first real freakishly athletic player that is also sooo fundamentally sound.
more like:
kawhi hands (mj i think has bigger)
giannis wingspan
pre-injury drose athleticism
westbrook tenacity
durants shooting
dwade defensive tenacity (but mj is much better and im a dwade fan)
kobe footwork (mj is also better well he is the original)
just my take
Jamás habra otro como él, jamás. Y yo fui una privilegiada por poder disfrutar, emocionarme con sus jugadas espectaculares y también sufrir algunos reveses.... Aun me emociono al ver videos de él 😍😍😍
One of my best idols!
They call every single boy/girl bands an 'idol' here in korea even if they have nothing to learn from them.
Clearly they don't know what 'idol' truly means.
Just about any younsters get treated like idols regardless of what they've achieved.
Very weird..
An idol can be someone who is greatly admired...so...I guess they do know the real definition
😂😂😂😂😂 absolutely love the Matrix ending 🔥🔥🔥
When you think about what Dennis Rodman was able to do it makes you think that maybe Michael could have played center for Portland
See this is exactly why MJ was definitely qualified to say what he did in reference to my boi Kawhi the KLAW Leonard being the best two way player in the league, they didn't want to see Kawhi 3-peat the politics of all Draymon doesn't guard the other teams player and hardly can keep up with faster or shiftier guards without help.
Love that ending! 😂😂👌🏾
#1 all time and its not even close
simple but elegant tomahawk jam 2:14
Great video!! I am sitting here after living this and thinking of all who labeled him as simply a scorer or just a high flying dunker. Did it ever occur to them that he was on a lot a fast breaks dunking the ball HE JUST STOLE AN /OR BLOCKED?!!! That would mean he was playing defense and with all the fast break footage apparently A LOT OF DAMN DEFENSE!! And the title says "one of the best" not the one and only. Back then people actually played both sides of the ball. It was a thing!
I swear, every argument for LeBron can be debunked so easily because MJ is THE GREATEST, and I say this as a sixteen year old, and I mean every single one
MJ is the better all round player, is a top two way player ranking amongst likes of Hakeem, Wilt, David Robinson, and had court vision on par with Larry Bird, Magic, and LeBron as well
if he played pg like the 41 games in 88-89 season (where he averaged something like 31 points, 9.4 assists, 8 something rebounds, and had a seven game triple double stretch, much longer than the bloated one LeBron had last year of three games at which ESPN fell over their chairs, and had ten triple double games out of a stretch of eleven), his stats would be more complete and one can only imagine what absurd stats he would have by completely dominating even smaller guards on d as a point guard
people rave on and on about LeBron's longevity when MJ was a all star a week before his 40th birthday, and still gave 20+ pt games
he came in after his second retirement to average 30 ppg for the first twenty games or so at age 38 before injuries rubbed in
Not to mention a 51 pt game at 38 and 40+pt game at over age 40
Just switch LeBron being selected in 1984 and MJ in 2003, and imagine the career trajectories if both had the exact same teammates season by season and played same amount of seasons
Do you doubt MJ wouldn't make it past Magic in 2010 to the NBA Finals, or get shut down by Shawn Marion in 2011, lose to a third year Kawhi and old trio of Timmy D, Manu, Tony
If LeBron can lead the Cavs with spectacular and monsterous performances in 2015 to game 7 with Love and Kyrie out due to injuries, why did it take him same number of games to beat Warriors WITH those two all stars
Simply put, LeBron was amazing in 2015, enough to even deserve Finals MVP, but he had bad performances early in 2016 NBA finals, and he never was suppsoed to be down 3-1 because Cavaliers clearly had the better leader in James, an even duo to contest the Splash bros, a better trio, albeit not as deep roster
MJ retired as the MVP in 1998 at age 35, same age LeBron is now but people continue to rank LeBron higher solely due to longevity
Why is it that MJ has a better fg percentage as a guard?
Not to mention MJ leading guards in blocks...
you can go on and on and on and on and on, but fact remains, if MJ had retired in 1998, he would have an even better PER and ppg career average and so and so on
in almost every single argument, MJ is the clearcut GOAT
If this is Lebron he’ll be needing Kuzma’s push to make defense xD lol
Shaqtin a fool 😂
Michael Jordan is the greatest defensive and offensive player of all time he's the goat for a reason.
People used to overlook his defense for sure because he was so great offensively. People also used to think he was awarded all these defensive awards because he's "Michael Jordan". This video proves them wrong.
young MJ was so fast, even isiah thomas admit it
Jordan will never get the full credit he deserves for his defensive dominance. He was the one that guarded the best player most often, not Scottie.
“Michael Jordan *always took it to a point that he wanted to guard the best player* even with myself, even if I start talking trash to him he would always tell Scottie Pippen ‘look, I’m taking Gary tonight’,” Payton told First Take. “He would always take the best basketball player..."
- Former Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton
and with Harper injured in the middle 3 games of the 1996 Finals, Jordan was the one against whom Payton mainly struggled offensively in that series, after a great first 3 rounds.
Isiah, Drexler, KJ, Payton, Stockton, Tim Hardaway, Penny, Rice, Steve Smith, Reggie, Rod Strickland, all struggled much more when guarded by Jordan in Playoffs or Finals series.
Players like Joe Dumars 1991 and Terry Porter 1992 had huge playoff averages entering series against the Bulls but got shut down against Jordan.
Even in the instances where a perimeter player had better averages against the Bulls, they were mainly lighting up the PGs like Paxson, Vincent, Hodges, Armstrong, Kerr, Harper, or Brown and struggled with Jordan switching on to them.
Ricky Pierce had the highest scoring average of any 6th Man in history (23 PPG) in 1990, but got shut down every time Jordan switched on to him in the 1990 Playoffs despite his great series averages.
Another good example is Reggie having 22 points on 7/12 FG through 3 quarters in Game 7, but 0 points and 1 shot attempt with Jordan switching on to him in the 4th quarter to win the series. Countless examples of Isiah, Drexler, etc. lighting up the other Bulls only for Jordan to switch on to them and shut it down.
The only reason people believe that Pippen guarded the best player is because of Game 2 of the 1991 Finals (and Jordan still primarily guarded Magic for the overall series). and Magic never "lit up" Jordan consistently. Jordan also held Magic to 0-0-0 on 0/2 FG with 2 TOs in the overtime of Game 3 with Pippen fouling out at the end of the 4th quarter. In Game 5 Magic shot in the 30s and Jordan played a hand in all 6 of his turnovers, as well as more that were not credited to Magic himself.
In only a few series did Pippen mainly guard the best player - Dominique 1993, Penny 1996, Rice 1998, and Jordan still did the better job when guarding the latter 2 for shorter stretches.
Penny had 1 total point on Jordan in the 1996 ECF, and Rice only made 1 FG on Jordan in the whole 1998 ECSF. MJ only guarded Nique briefly in 1993, but still did well, albeit too small a sample to compare to Pippen.
As far as versatility goes, Jordan also held his own against Barkley, Laettner, and Vlade Divac for isolated stretches. Though nobody could really guard 1-5 besides Pistons Rodman.
Real recognizes real, that's why Gregg Popovich, one of the best defensive and overall coaches in history, compared Leonard's perimeter defense to Jordan. Fitting, as they're the 2 best perimeter defenders of their time (and Jordan the best perimeter defender ever)
"He has the ability to do what a Michael Jordan did at both ends. I don’t mean he’s Michael Jordan, but *Michael played both ends of the floor*...
You think about the best players in the league, *they’re not two-way players*. He wants to do that, and he stays after it every day."
- Popovich comparing Leonard's defensive dominance to Michael Jordan's
1988-1993 and 1996-1998 Bulls always ranked 1 or 2 in least playoff PPG allowed (minimum 10 games played) under Jordan's leadership.
Even as a Wizard, Jordan shut down Paul Pierce and Vince Carter, two of the top scorers in the 2001/02 season. and the Wizards had very good defensive numbers prior to Jordan getting injured in his 46th game of the season. Immediately after the injury, their W-L record and defensive numbers plummeted.
Jordan's defensive accolades
- 9x All-D 1st Team (T-record with Payton, Kobe, Garnett)
- 10x Top 8 in DPOY voting (T-record with Duncan, Hakeem, Garnett)
- 7x top 5 in DPOY voting (9x Mutombo, 9x Robinson, 8x Hakeem, 7x Rodman)
- 3rd place in 1992 DPOY (Robinson, Rodman)
- 2nd place in 1993 DPOY (Hakeem)
- 1988 DPOY (ahead of Hakeem, Eaton, Cooper, Robertson, Ewing)
- 10 Playoffs averaging 2+ steals/game (record)
- 3 steals titles
Are fully deserved, corroborated by the eye test, defensive matchups, opposing players consistently struggling, and never because of media hype or popularity. Kobe and LeBron would have matched that if that's what it came down to.
At the very least, you have to rank Jordan one spot ahead of Pippen as perimeter defenders, since they faced the same opponents and Jordan usually guarded and did the better job against the best player.
Wow, thanks for sharing.
Nice man, thanks for the upload.
Mannerisms should be studied in film also. MJ and the rest of the respectable HOFers should be studied for this.
Most of superstar today focus on offense only. Rarely on defense. Focusing of outscoring opponent like GSW thats why they had a hard time on clippers.. Bulls 90 is still the best both offense ans defense. Less the weak nba rules today
The ability to exert that energy on both ends of the court. His reaction and recovery ability is best I've seen.
That leaner dunk! 3:52 My goodness! 🕊
Jordan was a great defender his whole career but through the early 90s he was so damn fast with his lateral movement that he could recover on almost anything plus get ahead of anyone on the fast break with two dribbles.
You know, I've seen jordan run so fast in a game, I bet his 40 would have been really low.
4.4
@@DickTahshon I think he's been tested faster than that. But, I meant in the moment I saw. Have you ever ran for a reason? Had a reason to run? I've gone all out once where I shocked myself. Chased two kids down as a joke. I acted like they were too far away. They were down the street a ways, and slightly around the corner. So I look away, then bolt for them in an animalistic way. They were about 50 yards away. I caught them before they went anywhere. Fastest I ever ran. I did it for fun. As competition? I never cared for tests.
How many guards in NBA history can have an all defensive 14-minute clip? D-Wade? Drexler? Mo Cheeks? Stockton? J-Kidd? DJ? Payton?
complete player.
Imagine being defensive player of the year while scoring leader of 35 points a game while leading the NBA in steals and yes, that was season in 1987-88
MJ wasn't the best defensive player, he only led the league in steals
Iverson said about the time he crossed MJ that everyone makes a big deal of that even after he got crossed he still almost blocked Iverson shot
Man Jordan had separate mini-careers just embarassing certain players. I mean like feel bad for some of dudes.
Patrick Ewing didnt deserve all that.
Greatest of all time.
Not even halfway through this video. Lebron, kobe, whoever comparisons. Watch this video and stop comparing. He did this every game. Lebron isn't this. kobe isn't even this.
There's no doubt that MJ wanted to be the best on both sides of the ball, that's what separates Him from the rest of the crowd.
Always is Jordan time
I thought leonard is the greatest when it comes to D but i change my mind after watching this...
Jordan looks better because he can block everywhere....
I would hate it when the homies would compare our games, he was 100% offensive minded: I just wanted to do whatever my team needed to have the edge. I would look at the team stats at HALFTIME to see what areas our opponents had the edge in. Rebounds, Assists, Steal, Block Shots, Fouls: I knew it was the only way to take away their momentum. He was multi dimensional in his game, didn’t telegraph his intentions: drive past you, post you up and overpower you, shoot the midrange, triple team him pass, and shot high percentage from free throw line. And then turnaround on defense and GUARD YOU to take your remaining energy, if that wasn’t enough SWITCH to TWO and play off the ball TO MAKE YOU RUN SOME MORE until your LUNGS FEEL LIKE THEY ARE ABOUT TO COLLAPSE.
HANEÈPP!! ANG LUPIT NAMAN mj sayang !walang libreng nba sa phillipìnes nung alaw ngaun ko lang napanuod mga laro mo putik!! Wala na akong nakita sa nba ngayun faves ko ckyrie,lebron love,MJ=GOAT
Did i hear that right??? 7:06 " 9 steals for michael!" Deym!!
the best #1 the goat
Theres even a moments that mj's hand is faster than the eye..ul just wonder how the ball went to his hands and you cant pin him down on the low post his very high b.ball i.q would make way to anticipate your passing lane
Wow!
Who the fuck said lebron was faster than jordan ???????? Lmao
Gotta say it again...as I watch these highlights, they look phenomenal.
*But* when I look a bit closer, it's clear this era of the NBA is not what it is today. Guys are nowhere near as physically gifted...slow, unathletic, not even all that aggressive when positioning for the ball sometimes.
What I'm seeing more and more is that Jordan was ahead of his time. His physical gifts and skill belong in today's league where he can compete against people who, at least physically, will provide a better measuring stick. The more I see MJ highlights in this forever-discussion of who's the GOAT, the more I see Jordan had it easy in terms of the overall league competition.
in addition to his skills being greater than everyone else's, he was physically lightyears ahead of virtually everyone.
If nobody can guard Kawhi in today's NBA, and if Kawhi can guard Giannis in today's NBA, what do you think Jordan will and can do? Athletic does not mean better. In fact Kawhi is a little slower than Jordan and Kawhi is at his peak. With zone defense allowed today, do you think Jordan will not be smart enough to clog your passing lanes? He did it when illegal defense was still enforced in the rules, yet he still got so many intercepted passes in his prime.
Anyone ever see lebron block shaq shot? Mj did
Usually centers would get the award in today's era with no true centers he would have 10 dfp
EVERY one of these plays involve Jordan reaching on, running into the path of the offensive player, reaching around the inbound pass and gambling and risk taking in a way you DON'T teach defense. When it works, it looks spectacular. When it fails--which is most of the time--Jordan either picks up a foul or gives up an open look. Most of the time, his player gets into the paint and gets the big men in foul trouble. This was why his teams were below .500 EVERY season. It was when Pippen joined the team and brought great, sound position defense--you know, moving your feet, keeping a wide base, no reaching, no gambling, no going for the spectacular ooh play--that the Bulls finally started winning. Horace Grant's mobility and interior defense and shot blocking is also underrated. Go back and watch the 1992 Finals. Clyde Drexler, who ONLY went right literally walked by Jordan on every other play, and it was Grant, Pippen, and Scott Williams that kept blocking his shot.
Emmanuel Enyinwa
You do realize Jordan was the one who showed Scottie Pippen how to play effective defense right? It's been said before
Yeah man, its when 9 ppg bench player Pippen joined that team that the Bulls started winning. So much so that for the Bulls to go past the Cavs in 1987 Jordan had to average 45.2 ppg when the next 5 Bulls combined averaged 45.4
Phil Jackson wrote this on Mike "He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense"
Admit you dont know what the fuck you're talking about
You cant deny his INTENSITY AND TENACITY
Troll
love it man.
How many times does he turn a defensive block into an offensive basket, that last one against the Jazz, when he got the steal you could hear the collective groan of the Jazz fans in that arena, because everyone in Utah knew where that ball was going!