T or F: Gary Payton could lock down Michael Jordan.

[EGarrett]

I have a theory.

The only kryptonite that could lock down Michael Jordan was Scottie Pippen (the best defender of the 90s even though the media was paying more attention to Mutumbo's finger wagging - shot out RedSpice.)

Pippen was equipped with more tools to stop MJ than any other player in the era and posible all time.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8i7XovfquQ[/youtube]

[Darain]

^ That was a charity game and michael jordan was not that efficient

[bledredwine]

^ That was a charity game and michael jordan was not that efficient

He was also at the time retired, rusty and still balled on Scottie to the point where Scottie just grinned and shook his head like "god damn you're good"

[JordansBulls]

^ That was a charity game and michael jordan was not that efficient

Jordan scored 52 points to lead his team to a 187-150 victory. Jordan made 24 of 46 shots. As he left the floor, the crowd of nearly 20,000 gave him a standing ovation.

He shot over 50% and there weren't many free throws in the game.

[Rerisen]

There are stories of MJ torching Pippen in practice, so no I don't think he would have been a Jordan stopper. Have to remember MJ brought up Pippen like a little brother, tough love no doubt, but it helped him get better. Pip was asked who the toughest player he ever guarded was, he said MJ, in practice.

As for Payton, obviously a great defender, but if he could routinely slow Michael down, then why wouldn't the Sonics put him on Michael for 48 minutes every time they played. Bulls never had a great PG in Michael's time worth your best defender. But they didn't always match GP, and when they did put him on him, he often wasn't more than an annoyance. You can see this clearly in the career head to head numbers.

MJ certainly had some poor games against various good defenders over his career. Whether at times vs the Pistons, Knicks, even Riley's Heat (though he feasted on them more). In the end, he seemed to always come out on top overall though. Early in his career, just individually, then later at a team level too.

[MacGill]

I think the thing to remember here is that time in the nba effects every player. MJ is my GOAT, however I am not above thinking that there weren't particular match-ups on the court who would present MJ with a more difficult transition to the basket. Every player is only human. The brillance about MJ was how he learned from this or changed up his game to counter.

Was GP physically a great match-up against MJ, sure was, but let's not forget MJ in 96 was what 33 (like Kobe was last year) and you can see that as a player ages his athleticism starts to decline. GP was in his prime but add in 88-91 MJ and then the athletic seperation happens more.

Important note: Being judged as the greatest doesn't mean you win every game, score every time, or win every match-up battle. If no-one could truly guard MJ then every miss would be of his own ability without the influence of others, which is not the case here.

Another point was early Kobe (late 90's) to then MJ (02-03) I believe, and the difference in both abilities. I don't think you can ever lockdown a player of MJ's caliber but certainly you can slowdown and force to adjust. I think GP did that and what follows him, when it is against a player of GOAT status, is that it was MJ at his peak form or he could replicate the same if he was, which it was not and chances are in peak form while he would still slow him down you are adding in that youthful bounce which means MJ can rely much more on athleticism over his smarts.

[dub81]

GP had a hamstring issue I believed during the that particular series. He wasn't even suppose to play but he played thru. But yeah...we talking about Jordan here. He's the best that ever did it.

[Frank Mulely]

I'm still trying to understand the argument against the stat comparison between Payton on Jordan and Payton not on Jordan in the series? The "GP couldn't effect Jordan" people have yet to make a reasonable argument on this thread. CLEARLY the stats who GP did in fact make a major impact on MJ's stats.

[52-12-7]

I was a huge Jordan fan back then, and I remember this series. Make no mistake about it. Payton did a heck of a job guarding Jordan. He was physical, pushed Jordan out of the blocks, and totally got into his head. Jordan had to spend tons of energy just to get to his position to receive the ball. I've never seen anyone cause that much trouble for Jordan. I think what Payton did to Jordan was closest thing to locking down a star player.

[nolunch]

96 NBA Finals was the biggest stage for MJ. It's his showtime moment. But GP owned him. Averaging 23 pts in Finals last 3 games is a big surprise for Bulls fans. So I always say GP is a better guard then Stockton, Nash, Kidd and Rondo...

[SichtingLives]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-AMtjN4um0[/youtube]

Nice transition oop at 7:28

[SonicMcMahon]

As about as a big a fan of Gary Payton as there is, here's my take:

Firstly, no one could 'lock-down' MJ, Gary himself would tell you that.

However, for a three game stretch in those NBA finals, I think we saw someone do as good a job as has ever been done on guarding the greatest ever one-on-one. Were there other factors that may have slowed Jordan here? Yes. The Sonics total team D for one; complacency may have been another factor for Mj and the bulls, and perhaps Michael was just a bit 'off' as some have stated - the video definitely shows him missing his normal makes. However, I think credit has to be given to Payton for that somewhat, (as I believe someone mentioned before: it's a common symptom of being well guarded). GP was pesky, exhausting and may have gotten Jordan thinking twice about shots he'd normally make without thinking. He got under Michael, up and in his business, in his ear, and kept him working on the other end as well. It was a different era and Payton had a defensive rep, so he was getting away with D that was physical and nasty, and would be downright illegal in modern play. He as able to gamble because the Sonics' rotations were crisp. All that said, he deserves due credit for about the best stretch of D anyone has played on Michael.

Now, I want to note that as others have said, I don't believe GP could do this for a full 7 games, he would be exhausted, and eventually Michael would break him for 35+ I am confident, (maybe even 50 for spite). I also don't think GP is even the right matchup in the regular season either. Not worth the physical punishment, and the sacrifice of GP's energy to be an offensive player. Which is why I might defend Dumars is a better candidate for the course of their careers. But for a short, shocking burst, one of the greatest defensive guards ever, gave MJ trouble.

Now is that so hard for the Jordanites to admit?

[sportjames23]

I'm still trying to understand the argument against the stat comparison between Payton on Jordan and Payton not on Jordan in the series? The "GP couldn't effect Jordan" people have yet to make a reasonable argument on this thread. CLEARLY the stats who GP did in fact make a major impact on MJ's stats.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdNuTG1ARzo&feature=endscreen&NR=1[/youtube]