Gary Payton Breaks Silence on Michael Jordan’s Rude Dismissal of His Greatness in the Last Dance

Michael Jordan is undisputedly one of the GOATs of the basketball game. There are only a handful of players who fall under the same bracket as Michael Jordan. There are only a few players who were even comparable to him. Moreover, around the world, once again, there are only a few sports personalities who have had a legacy comparable to him, a stature as big as him, and a reputation and fan following like him.

With all the talent, dedication, and willpower, his attitude, ruthlessness, and arrogance were also personality traits that made him the player he was. His arrogance fueled him to get better and not just trash talk, but also to stand by it with his performance. One of the many reasons why, even after him being ruthless and rude to other players, almost everyone respects Michael.

Gary Payton was another player who respected Michael for what he used to do game in and game out. Rich Eisen asked Gary if he had any issues with Michael saying he had no issues with Gary on the court as in playing against Gary. Rich stated that it was how he understood that statement.

Also read: Gary Payton Sparks Controversy by Choosing Warriors Legend Over Michael Jordan as NBA GOAT

But Gary said that it wasn’t that and MJ did not mean it about Gary’s game. Gary said, “Everybody’s gonna take it in a different way. I wasn’t in fear of no one and nobody in the way I played. I can guard anybody. On my day, I can guard anybody in the world. So it wasn’t a problem with that, I mean it wasn’t even like that.”

Gary Payton does not have any problem with Michael Jordan’s Last Dance

Gary said that he did not care about the documentary about MJ’s life. He said, “That was his production. I would have had no respect for Mike if he wouldn’t have said the things that he said. I would have no respect for him because if I’m writing my own movie or script or whatever, I’m going to talk crazy to everybody.” Gary admitted that he was rather impressed with the docu-series because he respected Michael on the court.

WATCH THIS STORY: Gary Payton recalls getting trashed by MJ.

He said that it was always fun competing against MJ. But Gary never had any beef against Jordan. Gary said that it was just pure, passionate basketball, and they had fun on the court. Clearly, neither of the two ever had any “problems” with each other.