“It Was Working”: NBA Legend Reveals How to Guard Michael Jordan and LeBron James

Generational talents come in decades and seldom coincide over each other’s era. But certain players remain fortunate enough to play alongside greats from two different eras. Seattle Supersonics’ Gary Payton is one such legend who played against Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and John Stockton.

In his 17-NBA seasons and over 1300 games (999 with Sonics), Mr. Payton did it all. He gave MJ tough competition throughout the 90s. Their most memorable faceoff came in the NBA Finals 1996, when the Bulls eventually came on top. Perhaps this was why Air Jordan laughed off Gary in The Last Dance documentary.

Sonics’ star on Michael Jordan & LeBron James

In a recent interview, he took turns to explain his secret behind successfully guarding the legends. Beginning with Air Jordan, he detailed, “When you don’t let him get the ball in the sweet spot, he has to work more and insert more energy, and when he inserts more energy, me coming down at the other end of the floor, and let him guard me, I exert more energy on him.”

He further revealed, “Phil Jackson found it and said, it’s just too much, let Pippen guard him, who’s a bigger player and I couldn’t post him all the time. So you see me always in the front, I make him work, I make him do it, and referees just let us play.

“You know a great basketball player like himself, he just gonna keep fighting, that’s what I liked, I too kept fighting, and that make it harder and he just get tired.”

Payton’s longevity allowed him to play Cavs’ LeBron James as well. About guarding the 4-time Champion, he said, “Don’t let him do what he wanna do. Stay always active with. That’s what I was doing, being active. Poking at it. All of a sudden he goes and I’m still in front, but I swipe. It takes something away from him. He tried to grab again and shoot it, but he went for airball.”

How good was Gary Payton against the Utah Jazz legend and others?

Lastly, about guarding Utah Jazz PG, he expressed, “John Stockton had the ball 95% of the time. You’d have to guard him 94-ft to 94-ft. If you try a poster, he’ll run away and try to steal the basketball.

“You look at the board, he has 26 points, 15 assists, 6 rebs, 4-5 steals, that’s hard to beat every night, that’s hard to guard. Plus, he is playing only 34 minutes per game. If you’re getting that much production in 34 minutes, you’re a hard person to guard.”

Often compared to Jason Kidd in the greatest point guards’ conversation, Payton was a phenomenal defender. No wonder why he was selected for the All-Defensive first teams a record 9 times. He was not that good a shooter, but he would always find his creative ways to stretch to the double figures. He will always be remembered as a Sonics legend.