Featured Image Credit: ABC News - Valuetainment
Topics: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Basketball, NBA
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Basketball, NBA
They shared the court with some of the greats but Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant agreed when it came to the toughest opponent they faced during their trophy-laden careers.
Let's be honest, there wasn't much he couldn't do on the court but back in his playing days, Michael Jordan admitted to struggling defensively against small guards who were quick.
That's right. He may have been the first player to win the NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year but as pointed out by former Chicago Bulls teammate BJ Armstrong, Jordan struggled against a certain type of player.
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"Anyone who could catch and shoot and run around screens [he would struggle against], because he was a ball watcher," Armstrong said.
"He gambled all the time. You gotta stay home on Rex (Chapman). So Rex, Dell Curry, and Jeff Malone, anybody who could do that because he tried to get in the passing lane. I bet you Rex had some good games against those teams."
Somebody who Armstrong failed to mention was Allen Iverson. In fact, when speaking about his toughest opponents during an interview, Jordan explained why Iverson was one of his toughest challenges.
He said: "The hardest opponent for me to play against? In terms of 1-on-1? Small guys... Allen Iverson."
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Jordan went on to name Damon Stoudamire and Rod Strickland as difficult opponents but it was Iverson who gave him the most problems.
"He could beat me on the perimeter, but I could take him in the post," Jordan said about the former Philadelphia 76ers man. "He’s a heck of a good player. He's a young talent. He is gonna continue to get better once he learns how to play the game on a much higher scale."
MJ added: "Right now, he's doing a lot on physical ability. He's good, he's quick. That's a challenge for me to go out to him and his stature. He's so quick and small. But it's a challenge. I won't back away."
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The late great Kobe Bryant agreed. "Allen Iverson, he was a load to deal with, man," he told Jimmy Kimmel. "He was really, really tough. There was a game where he dropped 44 on me in Philadelphia."
Bryant also named Iverson as the person who helped him grow as a player.
"A.I., as a competitor, he drove me to be more obsessive about the game because I had to figure out how to solve that problem," Kobe said in a press conference during the 2016 All-Star Weekend.
"I told him, I saw him this weekend, 'You don't realise how much you pushed me. I don't think people nowadays realize how great you were as a player, how big of a problem you were for defenses.'"