Who would be the best individual defender on prime LeBron and KD?

[bonita_the_frog]

Artest would break their ribs, mission accomplished !

[Sealab2024]

Rodman on KD would be sick to watch for a series. LeBron is quicker than anyone his size so give me Rick mahorn and let him beat LBJ up for every inch.

[Diop]

Kevin Garnett or Hakeem Olajuwon

[sisibilio]

Tony "The Grindfather" Allen baby.

+1

[chitowndish]

Glad to see votes for Artest that guy was such a defensive beast but I think I have to go with Rodman though just because of the work he did against Karl Malone he could handle bigger players well and he had the speed to keep up with quicker players. Artest I think was probably better on quicker players but I feel like I like Rodman more for KD or Lebron. The other thing I like with both of these guys is you aren't just defending guys like Lebron or KD physically, you have to get into their heads and bother and aggravate them in addition to the physical stuff and Artest and Rodman are some of the best at this.

[GeorgeMarcus]

The secretary of defense, Bobby Jones!

Artest is a good one too

[FrodoBaggins]

5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA SF/SG Marques Johnson talking about being guarded by rookie Kevin McHale (1980-81):

“You like to test a guy like him out,” said Bucks All-Star forward Marques Johnson, who played man-to-man against the rookie. “You want to see what he can and can’t do. You have a check list. Definitely. You’re working it through your mind.”

Where is Kevin McHale vulnerable? Where is he strong? What can you do against Kevin McHale? What can’t you do? What does he like to do? What doesn’t he like to do? Johnson said he worked the whole list, question by question.

“One thing you learn early against him,” Johnson said, "is that you’re going to have to take him outside. He must have exceptionally long arms. It doesn’t look as if he jumps that high, but he’s always got those arms in front of you, making you alter your shot. It’s almost impossible to get through him on the inside.

[JellosJigglin]

Dennis Rodman and it's not even close. He's shutting these guys down. He had the size, length, weight, speed and a motor like a honey badger on fire.

[Chris Porter's Hair]

Glad to see votes for Artest that guy was such a defensive beast but I think I have to go with Rodman though just because of the work he did against Karl Malone he could handle bigger players well and he had the speed to keep up with quicker players. Artest I think was probably better on quicker players but I feel like I like Rodman more for KD or Lebron. The other thing I like with both of these guys is you aren't just defending guys like Lebron or KD physically, you have to get into their heads and bother and aggravate them in addition to the physical stuff and Artest and Rodman are some of the best at this.

I wonder if people remember that they used to intentionally have Rodman guard Shaq. I'm not going to say he "shut him down", but the fact that this was an intentional plan tells you something about his ability to guard against size and strength.

[FrodoBaggins]

Found a nice clip from Feb 1987 of McHale switching on to Michael Jordan and blocking his mid-range jump shot:



And multiple blocks/good defensive plays on Olajuwon from the 1986 NBA Finals:

[benson13]

The answer is Giannis, Kawhi, or Pippen. All three play great defense and would require the defensive attention and effort of LeBron and KD.

[FrodoBaggins]

Found a nice clip from Feb 1987 of McHale switching on to Michael Jordan and blocking his mid-range jump shot:



And multiple blocks/good defensive plays on Olajuwon from the 1986 NBA Finals:

Another block on MJ from the same game. This time at the rim:



And another on an iso, give-and-go closeout:



Iso defense:











Blowing up a 2-on-1 ala Draymond:

[meatwad4343]

Healthy Jonathan Issac