Payton : "Stockton is the hardest person I ever had to guard"

I still think the Sonics might have had a chance against Chicago if Karl had let Payton guard MJ the whole series.

 

I miss the 90s.

 

I can't believe the media is up in arms about his and are trying to discredit or mix-around his own words seeming like he never guarded Jordan.

 

John Stockton was harder to guard than Michael Jordan

says Gary Payton.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/9/4/4694696/gary-payton-john-stockton-michael-jordan

 

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=243704

 

If the glove don't fit....

 

It all depends on what kind of defender you are. Gary seemed like the the type to want to guard you on on one without any interference from other players. That's probably when he's at his best. When Jordan doesn't have the ball you aren't chasing him around screens and picks as much as you would with stockton. Once stockton has the ball he uses his teammates such as Karl Malone well, where you're trying to chase stockton over the top or you go under and stockton gets a free shot.

I'm that type of defender and find players like stockton very annoying to guard more so than a player that beats me one on one. They're always on the move and find ways to lose you through traffic.

 

It all depends on what kind of defender you are. Gary seemed like the the type to want to guard you on on one without any interference from other players. That's probably when he's at his best. When Jordan doesn't have the ball you aren't chasing him around screens and picks as much as you would with stockton. Once stockton has the ball he uses his teammates such as Karl Malone well, where you're trying to chase stockton over the top or you go under and stockton gets a free shot.

I'm that type of defender and find players like stockton very annoying to guard more so than a player that beats me one on one. They're always on the move and find ways to lose you through traffic.

 

I'm pretty sure Jordan and the Bulls would have adjusted if Payton had been guarding him from game 1.

 

I think Barkley agrees.

 

Stockton's probably hard to guard in the same way that your one boondocks friend who always plays skins basketball is hard to guard. They both sweat buckets as soon as the game clock start, they're all greased up like pigs in a mud farm, and they stink worse to boot.

No one with self respect wants any part of that guy.

 

Still burns....

 

That doesn't mean that Stockton was better than Jordan. He was skilled but he was a cheater and a flopper, just like Karla.

 

As a defensive player myself, I think I understand why he says this. Smart Players > Flashy Players

 

I hope I catch his Hall of Fame speech coming up. I hope it's filled with trash talk and Gary being Gary.

 

I don't agree with the Glove, but I respect his position. It's arguable. Although John Stockton is acknowledged as an all-time great, he is nonetheless underrated because he never won a ring. An example of his greatness: He led the league in true shooting percentage, assist percentage and offensive rating in...drum roll please...2000-2001, the year he turned 39 (!) in the playoffs.

 

Just to be clear: Jordan was clearly the better all-around player because he was a much better defensive player. That cannot be argued and would deserve outrage and disbelief. It can be argued, though I would not agree, that Stockton was the ever-so-slightly better offensive better (and thus was harder to guard).

 

Wow I'm really making a mess of my prose: I meant "If someone had tried to argue that Stockton was the better overall player, it would deserve outrage and disbelief." Sorry....

 

Payton didn't say it, but I think this kinda means he was able to get into MJ's head, since his big about Stockton was he wasn't able to distract him