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You can't stop an elite offensive player, but a great defender can make him work hard for 30 points on a night in which he might have gone for 50. With that said, who defended the following guys the best in their primes?
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Michael Jordan
- Larry Bird
- Magic Johnson

Wilt Chamberlain- Bill Russell

Kareem- Nate Thurmond

Michael Jordan- I guess Dumars

Larry Bird- Michael Cooper

Magic Johnson- Dennis johnson


I've done some research on my guys in the all-time league, and I just want to give a shout-out to Dave Cowens on Kareem. Kareem would get his, no doubt, but Cowens did as good a job as any. Cowens defended Kareem one vs. one for much of the 1974 series, and then in the final game, the celtics sent help for Dave. Kareem didn't get a field goal attempt up for 18 minutes at one point, and Boston won.

Wilt-Russell
Kareem-????
Jordan-Joe Dumars
Larry Bird-Michael Cooper
Magic Johnson-Dennis Johnson

Good names thrown out so far. I'd like to mention some other options that might not have come to mind.

- Wilt Chamberlain: Willis Reed did a terrific job in the 1970 Finals. Wilt's relationship with Russell was still strained at the time, but he said before Game 7 of that series that Reed played better basketball against him than anyone ever.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Cowens is an excellent mention, although Kareem certainly got his share. Wilt was the only player who could contest Kareem's fadeaway during his prime. Moses Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon were two guys who outplayed post-prime Kareem.
- Michael Jordan: Jordan has glowingly praised Sidney Moncrief. Gary Payton did about as good a job as anyone ever did against MJ in a big-time situation. Player less renowned for their defense but performing admirably include Kevin Johnson and Mitch Richmond.
- Larry Bird: According to Bird, Michael Cooper was the best defender he ever faced. Bobby Jones and Joe Caldwell round out the top 3, and he also gives props to a fourth guy--Dan Roundfield.
- Magic Johnson: Magic gives props to Dennis Johnson. Scottie Pippen was also known for doing a good job on Magic in the 1991 Finals, although he hardly shut him down.

Wilt Chamberlain- Nate Thurmond

Kareem- ?

Michael Jordan- Joe Dumars

Larry Bird- Michael Cooper

Magic Johnson- Dennis Johnson

In Wilt's biography, Chamberlain said Thurmond played the best defense on him. Wilt always put up huge numbers on Russell, I believe Wilt's 55 rebounds came against Russell and the Celtics.

Wilt Chamberlain- Bill Russell
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- Mark Eaton
Michael Jordan-Jeff Malone
Larry Bird-Dennis Rodman
Magic Johnson-Bobby Hansen

shawngoat23 wrote:You can't stop an elite offensive player, but a great defender can make him work hard for 30 points on a night in which he might have gone for 50. With that said, who defended the following guys the best in their primes?
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Michael Jordan
- Larry Bird
- Magic Johnson

Wilt = Bill Russel
Kareem = No idea
MJ = Gary Payton in the finals did an excellent job on him. 1 game over 30 points. Shot 42% on the series.
Larry Bird = Michael Cooper
Magic Johnson = Dunno..

Wilt: Bill Russell. Russell was smaller and lighter, but was a superb shotblocker and 1 on 1 defender. Wilt rarely dared to outmuscle him, and relied on his fadeaway and his hook shot. But this took about 10% away from his FG%, which is HUGE. (HM to Nate Thurmond. He was the other superb low post defender. But I think Wilt is flattering Thurmond b/c they were team mates)

Kareem: probably Wilt. In 1971 and 1972, young KAJ (he was double MVP already) and old Wilt battled it out in the ECF. Wilt was the only Laker to offer resistance vs the super Bucks in 1971, and outplayed KAJ in 1972. He outscored him in clutch games and even blocked his sky hook! (HM: Bill Laimbeer. He was a cheapshot artist, but never was afraid and was a MAJOR pain in the a**)

MJ: Joe Dumars or Gary Payton. Dumars won a series by at least keeping (young) MJ in check, and Payton lost, but really gave MJ problems. Payton was 4 inches smaller, but he was physically tough, liked to talk trash and was not afraid of prime MJ.

Larry Bird: Michael Cooper hands down. Cooper was a super version of Bruce Bowen, a SICK 1 on 1 defender with spidery limbs and with high immunity vs Bird's aura and trash talk. Bird said he worked so hard in the offseason b/c he imagined Cooper was guarding him. (HM: Robert Reid. In the 1981 NBA Finals, he SHUT DOWN Bird. Lucky the Celtics had Cedric Maxwell!)

Magic Johnson: Dennis Johnson. Dennis was almost as big and athletic and liked to play physical guards (e.g. Andrew Toney). Also, Dennis was quite a streaky scorer himself and forced Magic to waste energy on D. (HM: Danny Ainge. Ainge was also a tall guard and could also guard Magic for a while w/o getting automatically burnt)

Point Forward: Payton is 6'4", so that's only 2" shorter than Jordan, not 4". Also, Dennis Johnson was nowhere near as big as Magic (6'4" vs. 6'9"). Just FYI.

Yeah Russell was bragging about holding Wilt to 38ppg in his 50ppg season. Holding Wilt to 38ppg is total domination.

My Celtics bias is well known, but Magic himself said that DJ defended him the best. Magic was a GIGANTIC mismatch, but vs DJ, he was "only" a mismatch. Also, Wilt averaged 28.7 ppg vs Russell and (until 1969) 37 points vs anyone else: consistently hacking off 20-30% is pretty good. Good catch on Payton though, for some reason I had him at 6-2.