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[url]http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/02/gary-payton-says-john-stockton-was-harder-to-guard-than-michael-jordan/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter[/url]
very strong words but then again Payton talks so much trash, half of it cant be true.
Come on now. A pass first point guard harder to guard..
Maybe Payton's still a little salty over 96, he guarded MJ well enough for the Sonics to win that series
[QUOTE=TheMarkMadsen]Come on now. A pass first point guard harder to guard..
Maybe Payton's still a little salty over 96, he guarded MJ well enough for the Sonics to win that series[/QUOTE]
This.
I don't see how Stock would be harder to guard.
He's slower, smaller, and like you said a pass first PG.
Pass first players are the easiest to guard cause you know they looking to pass unless you just sag completely off them.
^Payton said the same thing 3+ years ago:
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-cG7uUBYxo[/url]
[IMG]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9aMeUvUjT54/T_owt_8GBVI/AAAAAAAACwg/_gPRMkcSTYY/s400/mjstock608.jpg[/IMG]
Jordan is like "**** "
[QUOTE=Legends66NBA7]^Payton said the same thing 3+ years ago:
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-cG7uUBYxo[/url][/QUOTE]
GP funny though.
He need to call some games or be on ESPN.
Drexler said that Rolando Blackman was his toughest matchup.
Unless GP saw Stockton's offensive brilliance in controlling and leading his teams offense as bad defense on his part, then it's just trash talk.
[QUOTE=TheReal Kendall]Pass first players are the easiest to guard cause you know they looking to pass unless you just sag completely off them.[/QUOTE]
He was shooting 50% for his career. You can't sag completely off of Stockton obviously.
[QUOTE=FreezingTsmoove]Unless GP saw Stockton's offensive brilliance in controlling and leading his teams offense as bad defense on his part, then it's just trash talk.[/QUOTE]
Go the link I put in my OP.
Stockton even got under Payton's skin at times.
Michael Cooper said Bird is tougher to cover than Jordan.
Boris Diaw said that Josh Smith was harder to guard.
Ron Artest said a guy named Mike Chatfield is best player he ever played against. Followed by Brandon Roy. And MJ wishes he had played Ron in his prime... and Charles Barkley is overrated.
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFFn-kH7WMw[/url]
GOAT interview.
[QUOTE]
Q: Did John Stockton ever talk trash back to you?
A: ”Never. That is the reason I really respected him because you [B]never could get in his head[/B]. He’s the [B]hardest person I ever had to guard[/B]. I tried to [B]talk to him, try to do something and he’d just look at me, set a pick and cause me [to get mad and] get a tech[/B]. And then all of the sudden it was over. There was much respect to him doing that to me. It taught me a lot.”
Q: You say Stockton was the hardest to guard, but what about guarding Michael Jordan?
A: ”Those battles were a little easier. [B]I would have Jordan get mad at me and go back at me. He knew he was really talented and could do whatever he wanted to. But [Stockton] was more of a challenge to me than guarding someone that would talk back to me[/B]. When you talk back to me and say something to me it made my game go to another level. John was one who wouldn’t say nothing and you couldn’t figure him out. He’d keep going in the pick and rolls and he and Karl Malone would score a big bucket. At times I would guard Jordan and get him mad and into other things.”[/QUOTE]
Here is the interview.
Classic ISH to not read the article. It's all about context. He could not get into his head mentally, and this was a huge weapon for GP. It caused him to not play his game bc he frustrated him.