Michael Jordan has dominated almost every defender he has ever faced, especially in the NBA Finals. Who can forget MJ battling Magic Johnson in 1991? In 1992, Jordan proved why there was no comparison between him and Clyde Drexler.
Jordan showed the entire NBA world why he deserved the MVP in 1993 over Charles Barkley, and in 1997 over The Mailman, Karl Malone. In 1998, MJ once again took out Malone, as well as his running mate, John Stockton.
TOP NEWS
Related: Gary Payton on Michael Jordan’s laugh in The Last Dance: “I wouldn’t respect him if he said I stopped him.”
There wasn’t any question to who was the best player in any of these series. The only one where you may question this is in 1996, where Jordan appeared to struggle at times. This is largely credited to the defense of The Glove, Gary Payton.
The 1996 NBA Finals
The Chicago Bulls entered the Finals with a historic 72–10 regular season record, led by a rejuvenated Jordan. The SuperSonics, boasting the league’s second-best record, countered with Payton, the newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year.
Yet, despite Payton’s reputation, he didn’t guard Jordan in the early games. Coach George Karl prioritized offense, hoping to conserve Payton’s energy.
In the first three games of the series, it was all Jordan and the Bulls. Chicago won all three games and MJ averaged 31.0 points on 46.2% shooting.
The thing was, Payton wasn’t his primary defender. Once Payton took on the assignment in Games 4, 5, and 6, Jordan’s production dipped to 23.7 points on 36.7% shooting, while Seattle won two of those games.
It appears that statistically Payton made an impact. But did he truly “shut down” Jordan?
Jordan vs. Payton
When The Last Dance documentary came out, Jordan famously laughed off Payton’s claim that he wore him down. MJ even said, “I had no problem with The Glove.”
Jordan is the ultimate competitor and he isn’t going to give any opponent a true compliment. But did he really have problems with Payton?
If you ask Payton, he sure did. The Glove once spoke about his matchup against MJ in the Finals.
“I think we needed a little bit more of a different planning… That’s what it was. We had all the players to play with them. We matched up with them very well. During the regular season, they won 72 games, we won 65. We were only seven games behind,” Payton explained.
“Then in the regular season, they beat us in Chicago, we beat them in Seattle. When we come and get into the playoffs, and it’s a championship, I was hurt and didn’t nobody know it. So we made a decision not for me to guard him,” Payton said.
“I was just coming off winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, first point guard to ever do it. Then all of a sudden, Jordan had got MVP. So Sports Illustrated put me on the cover of it – Mission Impossible, can I do it?
“And all of a sudden, they were putting the best defensive player in the NBA versus the best offensive player. I couldn’t guard him until Game 4. And I said forget this injury, we’re down 3-0, let’s try,” Payton said.
Payton makes valid points. On the outside, it sure looks like he had an impact on MJ, as his numbers certainly did dip in the final three games. But was it really because of The Glove?
Debunking the myth
The YouTube channel, @NBAFactsSelfResearched, broke down every game of the 1996 NBA Finals. He focused on every shot Jordan took with Payton as his primary defender. What he found out may shock fans.
Jordan was right. He really did not have any problems with The Glove.
In the video, the presenter breaks down Jordan’s field goal attempts and makes, as well as his free throw attempts and makes per game over Payton. In Game 1, Jordan shot 2-2 from the field. He also went 2-2 from the charity stripe.
In Game 2, Jordan did not take a single shot while being guarded by Payton. He also was not fouled by Payton on a shot attempt, as well.
The last game in which Payton was not MJ’s primary defender saw him contest three of Jordan’s shot attempts. MJ went 1-3 over Payton in Game 3, and did not take a free throw while being fouled by Payton.
Game 4 was when The Glove took over on Jordan. Overall, MJ did have a bad game, shooting 6-19 from the field. With Payton guarding him, Jordan shot 2-6. He also went 4-5 from the free-throw line, due to Payton fouling him.
Jordan may have struggled with Payton on him in Game 4, but Game 5 was a different story. MJ shot 6-9 with Payton as his primary defender. He also went 3-3 from the free-throw line.
Finally, Game 6, Jordan shot 3-5 while being locked down by The Glove. He also went 8-8 from the charity stripe. So, what does this all mean?
It means for the entire series, with Payton as his primary defender, Jordan shot 14-25 from the field, which is 56%. He also went 17-18 from the free-throw line as Payton did foul him a good bit.
Jordan really did not have any problems with Payton guarding him. He just had a few off games. This usually didn’t happen to him, yes, but ultimately Chicago won the title and Jordan won the Finals MVP.
