Michael Jordan’s ‘Toughest’ Opponent Confesses to Adding Special Significance to Guarding “Incredible Talent”

Hoop fans rarely get tired of Michael Jordan‘s stories. Over the years, several of his teammates and opponents have narrated their favorite MJ story. Recently, Joe Dumars added his story to the long list. Dumars, notably, had managed to earn MJ’s respect while guarding him.

In this instance, coach Mike Krzyzewski asked the NBA veteran what it was like to guard arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. And Dumars had a very heartfelt response to it.

Joe Dumars recalls what it was like to defend against Michael Jordan

The 60-year-old said that it was an incredible challenge to defend someone like MJ. He said one has to be “fully committed” to the role because it requires that much effort from you. Dumars also showed immense respect for the Chicago Bulls legend by saying he always looked forward to that opportunity. He said, “It’s the one game I looked forward to more than any other game in my entire career”. Dumars said that the key to successfully guarding MJ was to not get discouraged when he makes a few buckets in a row. He said, “We had a great game plan. I knew where the help was coming from. I knew where to push”.

However, Dumars also acknowledged that “he[MJ] was still incredible” and that he didn’t actually stop him. Despite that, Dumars managed to earn MJ’s respect as the Bulls legend has named him as his toughest opponent ever. Jordan said, “He thought well, and he was very smart about his defense. I think he approaches the game as trying to dissect his opponents and try to find weaknesses or try to force them to do things they didn’t feel comfortable doing”.

MJ has also said that playing against Dumar helped him improve as a player. “He introduced certain tricks to make me expand on my talents as an offensive player, and that is why I consider him one of the best,” he said. Dumar is arguably one of the most underrated stars of the game. While his name is not brought up as much when people talk about the Detroit Pistons‘ back-to-back championship runs.

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He was one of the biggest contributors to the team when they repeated the championship in 1989 and 1990. One thing that the NBA veteran can be proud of is that he has earned the respect of his peers and among them is the greatest player to ever play the game.

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