Jordan vs. Payton: Debunking the myth of the 1996 NBA Finals

Michael Jordan has dominated almost every defender he has ever faced, especially in the NBA Finals. Who can forget MJ battling Magic Johnson in 1991? In 1992, Jordan proved why there was no comparison between him and Clyde Drexler.

Jordan showed the entire NBA world why he deserved the MVP in 1993 over Charles Barkley, and in 1997 over The Mailman, Karl Malone. In 1998, MJ once again took out Malone, as well as his running mate, John Stockton.

There wasn’t any question to who was the best player in any of these series. The only one where you may question this is in 1996, where Jordan appeared to struggle at times. This is largely credited to the defense of The Glove, Gary Payton.

The 1996 NBA Finals

The Chicago Bulls entered the Finals with a historic 72–10 regular season record, led by a rejuvenated Jordan. The SuperSonics, boasting the league’s second-best record, countered with Payton, the newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year.

Yet, despite Payton’s reputation, he didn’t guard Jordan in the early games. Coach George Karl prioritized offense, hoping to conserve Payton’s energy.

In the first three games of the series, it was all Jordan and the Bulls. Chicago won all three games and MJ averaged 31.0 points on 46.2% shooting.

The thing was, Payton wasn’t his primary defender. Once Payton took on the assignment in Games 4, 5, and 6, Jordan’s production dipped to 23.7 points on 36.7% shooting, while Seattle won two of those games.

It appears that statistically Payton made an impact. But did he truly “shut down” Jordan?

Jordan vs. Payton

When The Last Dance documentary came out, Jordan famously laughed off Payton’s claim that he wore him down. MJ even said, “I had no problem with The Glove.”

Jordan is the ultimate competitor and he isn’t going to give any opponent a true compliment. But did he really have problems with Payton?

If you ask Payton, he sure did. The Glove once spoke about his matchup against MJ in the Finals.

“I think we needed a little bit more of a different planning… That’s what it was. We had all the players to play with them. We matched up with them very well. During the regular season, they won 72 games, we won 65. We were only seven games behind,” Payton explained.

“Then in the regular season, they beat us in Chicago, we beat them in Seattle. When we come and get into the playoffs, and it’s a championship, I was hurt and didn’t nobody know it. So we made a decision not for me to guard him,” Payton said.

“I was just coming off winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, first point guard to ever do it. Then all of a sudden, Jordan had got MVP. So Sports Illustrated put me on the cover of it – Mission Impossible, can I do it?

“And all of a sudden, they were putting the best defensive player in the NBA versus the best offensive player. I couldn’t guard him until Game 4. And I said forget this injury, we’re down 3-0, let’s try,” Payton said.

Payton makes valid points. On the outside, it sure looks like he had an impact on MJ, as his numbers certainly did dip in the final three games. But was it really because of The Glove?

Debunking the myth

The YouTube channel, @NBAFactsSelfResearched, broke down every game of the 1996 NBA Finals. He focused on every shot Jordan took with Payton as his primary defender. What he found out may shock fans.