T But Jordan also had genius-level defensive instincts. Jordan was also named to the NBAs All-Defensive Team nine times, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 1988. [ That's right. If you though Garnetts 12 NBA seasons under 100 was impressive, Duncan had 16. Hakeem Olajuwon: 9 x NBA All-Defense, 3 x BLK Champion, 2 x DPOY, All-time leader in in blocks (3,830). m To end up with a league-average PER of 15.00, the actual break-even mark in this case is 48.5%, which is exactly what the league average is on 2-point shots this season. m A Cowens knew the triangle provided Jordan and Pippen post-ups 6 to 7 feet from the basket, which both players favored, so he put bruising power forward Anthony Mason, his best post defender, on Jordan. Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Michael Cooper and so on. His defense was so much improved, take a look at his 2008 Finals performance against Pau Gasol as proof. ] ) It's an unforgettable image, but what people often fail to remember is how the Bulls first got possession. The 2004 rule changes, which also included calling the defensive 3 second rule ("[] a defensive player may not station himself in the key area longer than three seconds"a longstanding rule which had been ignored by referees) had a major effect, opening up the game and allowing a more free-flowing offense; it encouraged aggressive inside attack based plays (to draw fouls), and has increased the number of fouls given when contact is made on players who drive to the basket. MJ assisted on nearly 25 percent of teammate baskets when he was on the court, on top of his scoring responsibilities. Compare player statistics for: Michael Jordan career vs. LeBron James career. Jackson warned his Pacers teammates about Jordan's uncommon defensive resolve. F Career: School's all-time leader at tight end in catches (180), receiving yards (2,099) and receiving touchdowns (18) 2022: Single-season school record for receiving touchdowns (nine) by a tight end 3 His best defensive work came in the 2000 season, when against LA he held Shaquille O'Neal to just 23 points per game during his monster season. P Hakeems defensive rating of 98 career long is quite impressive. Antoine Walker experienced his forcefulness on opening night of the 1997-98 season. explaining: You'll never be able to tell [how James stacks up to Jordan or Magic Johnson] because they didn't play against each other. Full disclosure: FiveThirtyEight and ESPN are both owned by The Walt Disney Company. P And he still managed to get to the line roughly once out of every three shots he took from the field, making 84 percent of his free throws. Defense should be valued and regarded just as highly as offense, no matter how difficult that might be. Under the weight of all that lore, it can be difficult to cut through to what made Jordan truly great, independent of the image-making. ) E ( IN HIS FINAL season with the Bulls, Jordan's ability to alter a game defensively was still on display at 35 years old. His recovery skills were exceptional. Jordan's defensive acumen was apparent in real time; he was selected first team All-Defense on nine occasions, tied with Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant for most ever. P ) All of this helps explain why Jordans Bulls finished in the top five in offensive efficiency every season from 1989-90 to 1996-97, except for the two Jordan spent playing baseball.5 When your best player is taking on a historic share of team possessions while also averaging nearly 1.2 points on each of those possessions, youre going to have a historically great offense. 2 NBA MVP, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie, Hall of Fame . A Kawhi may be silent off the court, but his impact on the court is definitely heard. l He was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and made seven All-NBA Defensive teams, including five first team appearances. Russell was also one of the very few seven-footers in the NBA during his time in the NBA. ] Share Results Compare single seasons or full career Ex. MJ has a 6'11 wingspan and a ridiculous 9.75 hand length, crazy for a 6'6 player. His finest moment came in the 1984 Finals as part of the Boston Celtics, where he shut down the much taller and stronger Earvin "Magic" Johnson. l R g That made Jordan one of the better playmakers in the NBA, even as he simultaneously led the league in scoring 10 times during the 11 seasons he played between 1986-87 and 1997-98. t A P S He earned 10 All-Defensive Selections. Blocked shots and steals were first officially recorded in the NBA during the 197374 season. At only 29, he is already a 2 x DPOY and 6 x All Defense. Awards The three-point shot entered the league in 197980 season. But the numbers tell us that Jordan was uniquely great, both in terms of what he did and how he did it. KG has been a great defensive player his entire career, but he took that ability to a level above in 2008, as he earned the Defensive Player of the Year award. ( 0.44 Plus his ability to block shots was awesome too. g 2 Usually, "imposing his will" referred to Jordan's gravity-defying dunks or artistic layups in traffic. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. They are interchangeable in terms of making the top five, but for this article, they just missed out. . [ After sweeping the New Jersey Nets in the opening round of the 1998 playoffs, the Bulls beat Charlotte in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, but Hornets coach Dave Cowens made an adjustment. I couldn't believe how much energy he had. O "I get to the game," Ainge says, "and I'm beat. + T Hollinger has set up PER so that the league average, every season, is 15.00, which produces sort of a handy reference guide:[2]. ( ] O E College: Ohio St. (College Stats) Weighted Career AV (100-95-. u All-Rookie 1st Team. That just adds to the greatness of Payton's superb defense. Payton's cousin told him, "You're holding Kevin Johnson like a baseball in a glove." Former Philadelphia 76ers great Bobby Jones was one of the most admired defensive players ever to put a NBA uniform on. 1 3 A league-average PER is always 15.00, which permits comparisons of player performance across seasons. He said, 'You'll never beat us again.'. F m It was unbearable.". m People were wondering, 'Why is Jordan guarding the backup point guard on this team?' Jordan played all 82 games, so a 5-point differential 82 times comes up to a pretty wide margin. He could run over to play help defense and still catch up to his man. In many ways, the 1987-88 season from Michael Jordan might be the greatest individual season ever, and averaging 35.0 PPG while winning the Defensive Player of the Year award is a major part of . Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Indeed, Jordan had a 101 defensive rating in the 1996 and 1997 playoffs. A 6'8" small forward, Scottie Pippen was terrific defender. A + ] l Having a lockdown defender is always useful. [ Hollinger responded via a post on ESPN's TrueHoop blog: Berri leads off with a huge misunderstanding of PERthat the credits and debits it gives for making and missing shots equate to a break-even shooting mark of 30.4% on 2-point shots. D P What team had the best over/under record last year? R 2 To this very day, he remains the only point guard ever to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, which he did in 1996. + Dumars possessed excellent footwork, had nice basketball instincts, skills and determination to defend with a style like few have in this league. 0.2464 The Bulls put Pippen on Jackson to prevent him from posting up. Gary Payton is one of the greatest defensive players in NBA History. V 1 Can you name the 2 other players in NBA history to average 40+ PPG in the first 6 games of an NBA Finals series? T Defensive Rating since 1973-74 Rate statistic requirements NBA/ABA Share & Export Main Index . V B Active players are listed in bold P V "So when I checked in during Game 3, he immediately said, 'I'll take him.' At under 280 pounds, he's on the small side for an interior lineman but he has speed (a 4.79 40), which Moore said is becoming more important among interior defensive linemen because . to his advantage. The weakest part of Michaels game on the offensive end was his shooting, Phil Jackson says in the spellbinding documentary Michael Jordan to the Max. So he obviously mastered something that everybody said he couldnt do when he came out of college. You're bringing the ball up thinking, 'Man, is this guy even going to let me get over half court?' Despite the difficulty and inherent inefficiency of Jordans shot selection, he still managed to make an impressive 51 percent of his career 2-point attempts, notably higher than such similarly midrange-focused players as Bryant (48 percent), Carmelo Anthony (47 percent), Russell Westbrook (47 percent) and even Dirk Nowitzki (50 percent). He owns the greatest single-game performance ever2 according to Basketball-Reference.coms Game Scores. So the arguments can go in both directions. He was picking up guys full court on every possession for the entire 30 minutes he played. R g ( "That, combined with his athleticism, made him a suffocating defender. Michael Jordan Defense Rating By Year | StatMuse Michael Jordan had a defensive rating of 106.8 in his rookie season in 1984-85. And he did it by shooting and shooting and shooting and shooting. What Are His Chances For 2024? O The formula adds positive stats and subtracts negative ones through a statistical point value system. R T Kobe finishes nowhere near Michael Jordan (3.1%), Chris Paul (3.2%) or John Stockton (3.5%). In some ways, as an efficient guard with unstoppable post-up skills, MJ served as a bridge between the NBAs bygone age of dominant big men and todays era of high-usage perimeter creators. + JORDAN DIDN'T MAKE his first All-Defense team until the 1987-88 season, his fourth year in the league. Hakeem Olajuwon DBPM: 2.5 (career average), Scottie Pippen DBPM: 1.8 (career average). But MJ has the stats on his side: He remains the NBAs all-time career leader in Win Shares per 48 minutes and Player Efficiency Rating, both of which can be computed going back to 1951-52. Round 4, Pick 113: Clark Phillips III, CB, Utah. O His career field goal percentage is 49.7% and he is 32.7% from 3-point range. P B Everyone remembers the drive, pull-up and arguable push-off as Jordan freed himself from Bryon Russell and drained the championship clinching jumper. During the 1990s and 2000s numerous rule changes were incorporated, the "three point foul" and "clear path" rules were both introduced in the 199596 season with the effect of increasing the number of free throws, hand-checking (the amount of contact a defender may make with an opposing player) was banned in 1994 and the use of elbows was banned in 1997 (both rules had seen various degrees of limitation by earlier rule changes) although neither was fully implemented until 2004. E f E Join our linker program. In his career, Pippen's defensive rating is at 101.4, which is still lower than the defensive rating of Gary Payton (105.6) but greater than Dikembe . Subscribe to Stathead, the set of tools used by the pros, to unearth this and other interesting factoids. Full Site Menu. ] In four playoff games, MJ averaged 29.3 points, 5.8 boards and a career playoff high. Compare multiple combined seasons for up to six players Search Criteria And no one relished that assignment more than Jordan. A Bryant won eight All-First Team Defensive selections and two All-Second Team selections, which adds volume to his great ability to lock down his man. g He also had 14 win shares. ( ) Its something of a loaded question, the kind of which has launched a million RealGM forum debates. In the three seasons that Duncan did eclipse 100, he scored 101, and 100 twice. The more athletic and dominant you are, the less people give you credit for your intelligence. ] P Michael Jordan. O He outranks Jordan in career Defensive Win Shares, believe it or not, and his 4.0 Steal Rate in those two non-Jordan seasons were the highest ever for a player 6-8 or higher, by miles and miles. "You'd beat him with a move," Jackson says, "and before you know it, he was right back there in front of you. He made this assumption because he forgot that PER is calibrated against the rest of the league at the end of the formula. 0.44 The Last Dance (6). D Just ask James Harden, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, or Trae Young. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. ] Data Provided By He was an athletic forward who had toughness, nice jumping ability, long hands and footwork combined with nice skills that earned him eight All-Defensive First Teams selections. + Only 31 times has a player posted a season efficiency rating over 30.0 (with more than 15 games played in that season), with the highest score being 32.85 (Nikola Joki).Michael Jordan and LeBron James lead with four 30+ seasons, with Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Joki and Joel Embiid having accomplished three each, Anthony Davis having accomplished two . a F * Indicates member of the Hall of Fame. O Or even that defenses were simpler then. [ ] R Live From New York: Will AI Replace This Podcast. Welcome to The Athletic 's pick-by-pick grades for Rounds 2 and 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft. He was most known for his phenomenal defense on Michael Jordan during the Pistons' title runs during the late 80's and early 90's. The player with the highest grade at the end will be crowned the best defender in NBA history. Scaled to a tempo of 100 possessions per game. In addition to being omnipresent in the old YouTube clips weve all been watching, MJ will also take center stage in a 10-part ESPN documentary, The Last Dance, which premieres Sunday.1 The film covers the 1997-98 season, Jordans final year in Chicago, as well as Jordans cultural significance and that of the Bulls dynasty as a whole. The Pittsburgh Steelers follow the script: The Steelers take Joey Porter Jr. to open up Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. He didn't care.". + P Defensive Player of the Year. B l P S Jordans most underrated offensive strength of all might have been his ability to generate high-quality shots (for himself and others) without turning the ball over. He often guarded the opponent's top defender, which was his task every time on the court. Olajuwonwho marked the 90's as its top defensive player, and did nice work to out-match a much younger Shaq during the 1995 NBA Finals. He also had good skills and a big body, who put in hard work in every single game. Interpreted as: What is jordan defensive rating in his career? F ) And that's fine, I have nothing against that," says Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who played against Jordan in the 1992 NBA Finals with the Portland Trail Blazers and again the following year with the Phoenix Suns. In reality, he was most effective defending only centers and power forwards. Duncan was an incredible NBA rim protector for decades, but outside of the paint, he didnt really have much of an impact. P T Sometimes when you analyze historical legends with modern metrics, the results can leave you disappointed. Even the great legend Wilt Chamberlain had problems with his offense against this guy. P Using a detailed formula, Hollinger developed a system that rates every player's statistical performance.[1]. L The Dream impresses even on the stat sheet. Hakeem Olajuwon possessed a rare combination of quickness and strength with unique skills for a seven-footer. Here are the greatest man-to-man defenders in the NBA history! F G Jordan is the only player since 1973-74 (when steals and blocks were first recorded) to submit 200 steals and 100 blocks in two different seasons. But the reason he even had the chance was the previous play, in which he snuck behind Karl Malone and stripped the ball for a steal. V Do you have a sports website? Jordan habitually was knocked to the floor by the team he loathed most, the Detroit Pistons, who punctured his title dreams for three consecutive seasons with a physical, defensive-oriented style. He also held Jordan under 30 points five times in six games during the 1996 NBA Finals. G Find out more. It is also adjusted for the team's pace. Michael Jordan doubles Karl Malone in the post and comes up with a steal before sinking an iconic game-winning shot to capture the 1998 NBA championship. F Of course, theres also been a lot of mythology built up around MJ over the past three decades, and The Last Dance is sure to add to it even as the movies director, Jason Hehir, says he took steps to humanize Jordan. Although Kobe never won a DPOY, he received NBA All-Defensive Team Honours 12 times over his career. g Kobe got some steals but he was hardly an all-timer at stealing the ball. Russell had phenomenal instincts and was very quick. Listen. And with apologies to the Human Highlight Film, Jordan was asked to do a lot more on offense for the Bulls than Wilkins was for the Hawks. His offense was perhaps equally good to his defense. Kawhi has also scored under 100 five times in nine seasons. Pippen, however, only scored under 100 four times in seventeen seasons. 0.1936 It was personal. ( E "We played golf the next day, too, and I asked him, 'Why were you playing so hard in an exhibition game?' Was Jordan actually the greatest ever? ] 0.56 He is 6'7" and 200 pounds and had the footwork, skills and aggression combined with hard work to make him a feared player on defense. This article will aim to find out who the best defender in NBA history is by comparing some of the greatest defenders to each other using the following categories: Defensive achievements, defensive statistics, defensive impact. F Hakeem also ranks 9th all time in steals. For example, if a player has a DBPM of one, he would allow one less point per game. Making a three pointer is great, but if you cant stop the opposition from scoring a three, youre back at square one. [12], Comparing players from different generations using PER presents several problems, this is primarily due to the rule changes and the changes in statistical data collected from different eras (although many other factors could be taken into consideration, even down to the increased sample size as the NBA grew through incorporating more teams). + F Michael's saying, 'I'm going to lock you up,' but we countered with, 'It's not just you and Reggie. V If a player exceeds these thresholds, and virtually every NBA player does so with respect to two-point shots, the more he shoots the higher his value in PERs. [ u Very few could lock their man up regardless of their positions like former great Bad Boy Joe Dumars, who was called "Joe D." That D stood for defense, which is the perfect nickname for this legend that had superb professionalism. . e Im gonna figure out how to make those my strengths. And he did it.. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. F A Become a Stathead Per Game Bold indicates league leader ) A three point field goal made is worth 2.65 points. He was a versatile center who could often switch on the opponent's guard/forward and stay against him out on the perimeter, which is not easy for bigger players to do. His length allowed him to contest shots on the outside, but a lack of speed deterred him from being an effective perimeter defender. Each player will get a grade out of five in each category depending on their accomplishments. Or that Jordan had a strong supporting cast with multiple Hall of Famers (including Jackson as coach) and hyper-efficient role players (Steve Kerr, Horace Grant, etc.). He was one of the most feared lockdown defenders to ever step on a NBA hardwood. It's a shame he played in Milwaukee and did not have a great team around him. Michael Jordan (18) If you combine the 1997 and 1998 Finals, the Jazz failed to score 90 points in 11 of the 12 games they played. R He established himself as one of the best defensive guards in NBA history because of his bulk and rocket-launcher legs, which helped him frequently win battles against players nearly a foot taller. Kobe Bryant has more career points than Michael Jordan, but Jordan was the better scorer between the two. Payton and Jordan share the record for the most All-First Defensive Team selections (nine) too, which is an incredible achievement. "He's the best superstar defender in the history of the game," LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers says. If you had the opportunity to make your ideal NBA defender, it would probably look like Scottie Pippen. A Actually, if we took a player that was completely average in every other respect for the 200607 seasonrebounds, free throws, assists, turnovers, etc.and gave him a league-average rate of shots, and all of them were 2-pointers, and he shot 30.4%, he'd end up with a PER of 7.18. Honorable Mentions: Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Gary Payton. [ He could play in third gear and be better than most. > Career Player Efficiency Rating. ( T R O P He was all-defensive first team nine times and the NBA scoring leader 10 times. Yet Jordans numbers have held up to challenges from LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and numerous others in the generations that followed in his footsteps. He led the league in steals and was 14th in blocks -- the only guard in the top 40 that season.
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