Former Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Rasheed Wallace isn’t one to shy away from hot takes on his new Underdog Fantasy podcast “Sheed & Tyler,” alongside co-host TylerIAm.
On a recent episode, Wallace tore into the man widely considered the greatest basketball player in history, former Chicago Bulls Hall of Fame guard Michael Jordan, for his play on one court: defense.
“Mike wasn’t a very good defender,” Wallace said. Although Jordan’s nine All-Defensive Team appearances and Defensive Player of the Year honors were cited, Chicago was also known as one of the league’s best defensive teams during its title run, thanks in part to fellow Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. “This is all NBA crap: ‘We love Mike, we’re gonna put him up there[onanAll-Defensiveteam’I’mtalkingaboutthewayhewasonthecourtIwatchedthatsonofabitchgethisasskickedwhenhecouldn’tstopasonofabitchagainstJRRideryeahprobablyagainstClydeDrexlershitdon’tforgetthefirstJoeDumarsI’mnotsayinghedidn’tplaydefenseI’mjustsayinghisdefensewasn’tasgoodasmostoftheotherguysatthattimeIcouldn’tputhimon10or11straightFirst-TeamAll-Defensivegamesman[onanAll-DefensiveTeam’I’mtalkingaboutbeingoutthereI’veseenthismotherf—ergethisa–bustedwherehecouldn’tstopamotherf—erAgainstJRRideryeahprobablyagainstClydeDrexlershitdon’tforgettheearlyJoeDumarsI’mnotsayingthathedidn’tplaydefenseI’mjustsayingthatthisdefensewasn’tashighasmostothercatsatthattimeIcouldn’tputhimonlike10or11consecutiveFirst-TeamAll-Defensivejointsdog”[dansuneéquipeAll-Defensive’JeparledelafaçondontilétaitsurleterrainJ’aivucefilsdep***sefairecasserleculalorsqu’iln’arrivaitpasàarrêterunfilsdep***ContreJRRiderouaisprobablementcontreClydeDrexlermerden’oubliezpaslespremiersJoeDumarsJenedispasqu’ilnejouaitpasendéfensejedisjustequesadéfensen’étaitpasaussibonnequecelledelaplupartdesautresgarsàcetteépoqueJenepouvaispaslemettresur10ou11matchsconsécutifsdeFirst-TeamAll-Defensivemec[onanAll-DefensiveTeam’I’mtalkingaboutbeingoutthereI’veseenthismotherf—ergethisa–bustedwherehecouldn’tstopamotherf—erAgainstJRRideryeahprobablyagainstClydeDrexlershitdon’tforgettheearlyJoeDumarsI’mnotsayingthathedidn’tplaydefenseI’mjustsayingthathisdefensewasn’tashighasmostothercatsatthattimeIcouldn’tputhimonlike10or11consecutiveFirst-TeamAll-Defensivejointsdog”
Jordan also led the league in steals three times. It’s true that Pippen probably deserved more credit as a defender. The 6-foot-10 wing, a seven-time All-Star himself (and a former teammate of Wallace), was the best perimeter defender of his generation (yes, better than Jordan), but he had the misfortune of entering his prime just as a wave of big men were winning the award, including his then-rival and future teammate Rodman (twice).
This isn’t the first time Wallace has made a relatively outrageous claim about Jordan. Wallace has also claimed that Jordan was better during his two seasons with the Washington Wizards, who combined for a 74-90 record during that span, than he was during his MVP-winning run with the Bulls, which is generally considered his prime. Jordan was incredibly crafty and consistently gifted for Washington, where he remained an All-Star. And to be fair, Jordan wasn’t exactly a charity case; he averaged 21.2 points on .431/.241/.805 shooting percentages, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in 142 games — but only 120 starts. But he wasn’t better than the Defensive Player of the Year, two-way athletic threat he had been in Chicago.
Learn more: Former Blazers All-Star Gives His Worst Opinion of Michael Jordan
Jordan also led the league in scoring ten times and currently has the best scoring average in NBA history, with 30.1 points per game (on a .497/.327/.835 line).
Wallace clearly didn’t like what he saw in person against Jordan, but he cites a handful of regular-season games over five split seasons, four of which were spent playing for a different conference, and only three of them came during Jordan’s best defense. It’s a tiny sample size.
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