The night before they faced the great Michael Jordan, opposing players couldn't sleep and had jitters all over their bodies. The Chicago Bulls guard was so good that he put fear in his opponent's eyes.
However, one player did not show any hint of fear when he faced MJ. George Karl , then the coach of the Seattle Supersonics , shared that his point guard, Gary Payton , was the only one who stood up against the Black Cat.
Payton doesn't fear Jordan
"I thought when I came here four years ago when Jordan was playing, Gary was the only guy who had any guts to play him," Karl said the other day of the 6-foot-4-inch Payton. "Everybody else was in awe of him."
"Michael Jordan's biggest talent is his heart; it's not his skills. It's his competitive, ticked off, 'You're never going to beat me, and if you do, you're not going to do it again' attitude. And we're playing in the N.B.A., where you've got to beat him four times," Karl added.
Karl observed that it's okay to say hello when you first meet Jordan. But afterward, you shouldn't treat Mike as a friend or talk to him during shootarounds. MJ will abuse your friendliness and use it against you.
This is why Payton became known as one of the best defenders in NBA history. When he stepped on the hard court, he wasn't there to make friends. He was there to lock down people. While he may not have successfully shut down Mike, he earned his respect.
Who's better than Mike?
Maybe this is the right attitude when facing a superstar like Mike. It's easy to be intimidated and be scared. But Payton always remembered that he wasn't there to play cute basketball. The Glove was there to play the best defense of his life.
" You ain't gonna talk crazy or nothing, so I took it as a challenge to always go against him," Payton said . " He brought everything out of me you know I'm saying and they were always considering him the best offensive player and me the best defensive player at our positions. I didn't care about that. I'm not backing down you play basketball just like I play basketball I'm talented just like you. So I don't bow down to anybody."
This mindset propelled Payton to be one of the best defenders in basketball history. Prospects and current NBA players should take notes. Yes, you're playing against your idol. But this shouldn't stop you from wanting to take his head off.
Related: "That’s what we had and that’s what a leader is about" - Gary Payton reveals what he and Michael Jordan had in common
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