@@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.
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.
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.
This dude played possessed, you cannot let your guard done for a sec or goodbye, dunk, lay up or and one. Truly one of a kind. Stop the comparisons to make your fav player match up with this guy, they can't.
@@xiaoli5386 he is an active defender and he has great timing but literally most his steals/blocks were due to no spacing . Nobody played outside the 3PT line . All he did was cheat over lol.. defense is a bit overrated to me but im not a fanboy and can see logically
He never got enough credit for his defense. But then no one ever does.BUT when you are the scoring highlight GOD what do you expect. One of the best defensive players of his generation.
They can't give him credit for his defense. MJs great offense mixed with his great defense is what makes him the greatest ever. Downplaying half his game keeps it a conversation for other players.
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.
therealist811 wow i did not know he slowed down in 93 thats crazy cuz that was the finals he averaged 41 on 50% shooting and kept going taking it right to the hoop!!!!!
@@Zero-wy2gx You don't even need to get to skill set... No-one has had those physical attributes, before or after. Speed, reflexes, explosiveness, body control, vert, air time, hand size, stamina... Or mental attributes. Or skillset. No-one could or can do what he did and the only reason anyone would ever think otherwise is because they didn't see it...
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.
@@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!!
True "completeness" means playing BOTH offense and defense rather than just accumulating some triple doubles while doing little on defense. It eats into your energy a lot but you have to do it if you really wanna be the best. Jordan was truly complete, unlike his wannabes.
"True "completeness" means playing BOTH offense and defense rather than just accumulating some triple doubles while doing little on defense." That is the FUNNIEST thing ever. You know LeBron led BOTH teams in steals and blocks in 2017, then guarded Kevin Durant twice in the Finals. Jordan "guarded" these dudes: Byron Scott, Clyde Drexler (was in foul trouble the entire series), Dan Marjele, Hersey Hawkins, Jeff Hornacek and Jeff Hornacek. Oooh! Scary.
@Emmanuel What's good of "guarding" KD twice when Lebron was BLOWN AWAY both times. The worse thing than getting blown away was that Lebron did not even try to play hard on defense. He constantly missed his coverage or simply would not run back in transition, which is a sign of lack of heart or killer instinct. You never saw Jordan being lazy in a game. Just another reason why LeWannaBe cannot be G6-0T.
"You never saw Jordan being lazy in a game." Jordan was NOTORIOUSLY lazy on defense and was caught ball watching and glory hunting all the time. This explains why he never got the assignment on the other team's top offensive player, or never lasted on the assignment. You REALLY think Jordan would have shut down Durant when he couldn't guard Reggie Miller or Mahmood Abdul Rauf or Drexler?
And, HOW did he get "blown out" by Durant in 2012? I could have sworn the Heat swept the Thunder 4 straight after the Thunder won Game 1? Or, you are talking stats? See how Jordan jockers rip LeBron with Durant's stats in 2012, despite Durant getting blown out, but rip LeBron for 2017 despite his having superior stats to Durant. But, even in 2012, how did Durant do against LeBron? Durant averaged 30 ppg. Impressive, except LeBron averaged 28.6, about 1.4 points less. But, this does not tell the full story. LeBron led his team in points, rebounds, and assists, and was second in steals by one steal. 28.6 10.2 7.4 1.6. Durant went for 30.6 6.0 2.2 1.4. So, he didn't blow anybody out. Like Jordan, he simply took a lot of shots and scored a lot of points.
How did Jordan not guard Drexler and Miller? In 92 finals, MJ limited Drexler to only 40.7 FG% that was even below his team's FG%. In 98 ECF G7, Miller could not score a single point in 4th qtr (the fabled Miller time) when Jordan was guarding him. You are in pathetic denial.
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!!
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.
The scary thing with MJ is, he's not just the greatest basketball player ever, I believe he could play football on a Randy Moss level too....huge hands, out of this world athleticism, crazy competetiveness and a crazy work ethic, this guy could be a HOF receiver too! Imagine Montana to Jordan or Favre to Jordan....Deion might be the only one with a chance against him, the rest would look like fish outta water covering MJ as a WR.
Facts. He had all the tools to become the best WR ever if he wanted to lol. 6’6”, HUGE mitts, 48’ Vertical (INSANE), fast asf, physical too (He basically played Football against the Pistons lol 😂), and a GREAT footwork. Sheesh. GOAT. If you’re the QB just throw it deep and high and Jordan would have snagged it in the end zone 😂😂😂.
@@timeflies313fax. And he ran a 4.3 too. Plus with his tireless work ethic and stamina, I think he'd be a great DB too, I mean he could already play both ends in basketball exceptionally lol
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
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.
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.
What Jordan said in the beginning was so important as what he said was so true and all was revealed later on in his career. And he was so young at this time. GOAT
Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Hakeem Olajuwan are the only players in NBA history to have over 200 steals and over 100 blocks in a season. Michael Jordan is the only player to do it "twice" Not only that but he also averaged 37.1 and 35 pts in those seasons. Lebron James never had 200 steals or 100 blocks in his career at any time.
@@ranholic5027 you mean the finals MVP who couldn't win a playoff series for 3 years before he got some help? It does say a lot, when you're supposed to be a superstar but you can't win a playoff series on your own. Especially in the allegedly weak eastern conference.
@@Julian-rt9qs lmaooo thats u don't know history boi.. mj have no help in the early 80s and he constantly battling dynasty team like celtics and pistons .. but Lebum raped by a pedicab driver like jj barea and he had actually helpbwith superstar like dwade and bosh 😂😂.. and lets not forget the gentlemens swept by the old spurs and yea the humialiation vs warriors 😂😂.. so sad for ur king 🙏😂
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......
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
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.
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 like that you put that clip of him talking about getting the recognition he deserves at the beginning. He's probably the greatest defender of any position ever and no one really likes talking about it to this day.
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..
MJ may have been the best on ball defender ever, and on top of that he was a great help defender and was also a turnover machine. The man was a tenacious defender even into his mid 30's, and he was doing all of this while leading the league in scoring every year and being the 1st or 2nd leading assist man on his team.
It was amazing how uncommon he was... Too many steals per game, blocks and even offensive and defensive rebounds.... He remembers me playing on streets... I always loved be defensive, but MJ was like a psyquic who knew where the pass came from... He just waited the perfect moments... For real no one ever will be like MJ... Great video!!!!
he was an attacking defender this side of his game will be always underappreciated, but it's actually what brought titles to Chicago. I don't remember a single game where he was beaten by his direct opponents. Not a single game, even without considering his attack. Great and interesting video. Just pity for the bad quality. We all knew what would be the last action ...
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.
What's more impressive: 1) MJ picking barkley's pocket every time he tries to dribble or 2) A 6'6" guard who can block 7'ft +centers shot whenever he wants too!
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.
...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
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
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
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.
Image if he had the training, technology, and social media influence athletes have today, this man would be an even greater monster and icon. He would easily average 35-40ppg every season. The greatest to ever do it🐐