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NBA legend Michael Jordan seating next to Larry Miller (left), the president of Nike division Jordan, attends the Jordan Classic, a contest between the 30 best French players under age 16, during a European tour to promote his clothing and shoe brand, at Stade Pierre de Coubertin arena in Paris, France. (Photo by Christophe Dupont Elise/Icon SMI/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
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NBA legend Michael Jordan seating next to Larry Miller (left), the president of Nike division Jordan, attends the Jordan Classic, a contest between the 30 best French players under age 16, during a European tour to promote his clothing and shoe brand, at Stade Pierre de Coubertin arena in Paris, France. (Photo by Christophe Dupont Elise/Icon SMI/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
Hoop fans rarely get tired of Michael Jordan‘s stories. Over the years, several of his teammates and opponents have narrated their favorite MJ story. Recently, Joe Dumars added his story to the long list. Dumars, notably, had managed to earn MJ’s respect while guarding him.
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In this instance, coach Mike Krzyzewski asked the NBA veteran what it was like to guard arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. And Dumars had a very heartfelt response to it.
Joe Dumars recalls what it was like to defend against Michael Jordan
The 60-year-old said that it was an incredible challenge to defend someone like MJ. He said one has to be “fully committed” to the role because it requires that much effort from you. Dumars also showed immense respect for the Chicago Bulls legend by saying he always looked forward to that opportunity. He said, “It’s the one game I looked forward to more than any other game in my entire career”. Dumars said that the key to successfully guarding MJ was to not get discouraged when he makes a few buckets in a row. He said, “We had a great game plan. I knew where the help was coming from. I knew where to push”.
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NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 26: Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan watches as Roger Federer of Switzerland plays against Marinko Matosevic of Australia at their men’s singles first round tennis match on second day of the 2014 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 26, 2014 in New York. (Photo by Bilgin Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
However, Dumars also acknowledged that “he[MJ] was still incredible” and that he didn’t actually stop him. Despite that, Dumars managed to earn MJ’s respect as the Bulls legend has named him as his toughest opponent ever. Jordan said, “He thought well, and he was very smart about his defense. I think he approaches the game as trying to dissect his opponents and try to find weaknesses or try to force them to do things they didn’t feel comfortable doing”.
What was it like guarding Michael Jordan?
“It’s the one game I looked forward to more than any other game in my entire career.” – Joe Dumars
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MJ has also said that playing against Dumar helped him improve as a player. “He introduced certain tricks to make me expand on my talents as an offensive player, and that is why I consider him one of the best,” he said. Dumar is arguably one of the most underrated stars of the game. While his name is not brought up as much when people talk about the Detroit Pistons‘ back-to-back championship runs.
He was one of the biggest contributors to the team when they repeated the championship in 1989 and 1990. One thing that the NBA veteran can be proud of is that he has earned the respect of his peers and among them is the greatest player to ever play the game.
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