Gary Payton had a memorable NBA career, leading to him recently being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and the thing that stood out for Payton was his battles with the legendary Michael Jordan. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Payton detailed how he defended Jordan during their battles in the 1990s.
“Well, to me it’s a little different than guarding anybody,” Payton exclusively told PopCulture. “Cause a lot of people don’t do the same thing. Often, I had to guard him 94 feet because he was so active. He did a lot of things. You know what I’m saying? He come and pick and roll. You’ll get away from the basketball or this and that. But with Michael Jordan, they were playing a triangle. So, you know, if you let Michael Jordan get to that little spot, that sweet spot on the side, on that triangle, and he turns around, he’s going to kill you. So I just think I just made it way difficult for him to be on different spots, get him off that spot, make and take other shots, make it be uncomfortable for him.
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One of the more memorable Payton vs. Jordan battles was in the 1996 NBA Finals. The Bulls won the series, but Jordan was just held to 27.3 points per game. In Jordan’s first three NBA Finals, he averaged 36.3 points per game. “I knew I couldn’t stop Michael Jordan but I can contain or I can slow him down. And if I can do that and make it a little bit different, you’re not going to stop Michael Jordan,” Payton said.
“You’re not going to stop many basketball players who could score, but you can try to contain them and you can try to slow them down. And if you could slow them down from beginning 30 and again, you give them 22, you’ve done a great job. You know what I’m saying? And shoot all bad. You know what I’m saying? Every percentage go down. So, that’s all I try to do. I just try to make it uncomfortable for him.”
Another interesting aspect of the rivalry is Jordan and Payton are just two of three guards in NBA history to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Jordan won the award in 1998 while Payton won it in 1996. Payton is the first point guard to be named Defensive Player of the Year, and the only point guard winner in history until Marcus Smart won the award this week. Payton and Jordan were selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team nine times, an NBA record they are with Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant.
