Rasheed Wallace boldly claims Michael Jordan 'wasn't all that good of a defender'

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan was the ultimate two-way player long before the term became a buzzword in the NBA. He was known for his incredible scoring ability and equally impressive defensive skills, earning him nine All-Defensive First-Team selections throughout his career. But according to former player and fellow North Carolina alumnus Rasheed Wallace, Jordan's defensive prowess may have been overrated.

The narrative pushed by the NBA

According to the outspoken Wallace, His Airness’ defensive expertise may have been nothing but a narrative pushed forth by the NBA to further his greatness.

"Mike wasn't all that good of a defender," the four-time All-Star asserted.

"All that's NBA sh**. We like Mike; we gonna put him up there. Dadadadada. I'm talking about being out there. I seen this MFer get his a** bust where he couldn't stop a MFer."

Wallace went on to say he saw Jordan get bested by the likes of JR Rider, Clyde Drexler, and Joe Dumars, asserting that while MJ may have had defensive skills, it wasn’t as superior as it was made out to be.

"Against JR Rider, probably against Clyde Drexler. Sh** don't forget the early Joe Dumars. And I'm not saying that he didn't play defense, I'm just saying that his defense wasn't as high as most other cats at that time. I couldn't put him on Like 10 or 11 consecutive first-team All-Defensive joints."

Only 9x First team all-defense, my mistake, for noted Bucket Giver Upper Michael Jordan 😂 new episode Thursday 9pm ET 🚨https://t.co/wZVZkCHfN4 https://t.co/gL9fhUohn9 pic.twitter.com/OEUxZQPisI
— Trill Withers (@TylerIAm) January 31, 2024

Not a fan of Jordan

Wallace went to the same school as Jordan, but he’s made it clear he’s not that big a fan—if at all—of the GOAT. In another discussion, Wallace cast shade on Jordan’s status as the greatest basketball player of all time.

"What makes him the GOAT?" Wallace surmised.

"He's No. 1 in one category. I give it to him. Tip my hat, 6 and 0 in the Finals. Now, that's impressive. If you want to say Michael Jordan's the GOAT of being one of the greatest competitors to play this game, I could give you that. He ain't number one in no offensive category. He ain't number one in no defensive category."

Speaking of Rasheed Wallace and Michael Jordan, here's a throwback video of a brawl between the Bulls and Bullets in 95.

Rookie Sheed throws the ball at Luc Longley, misses and hits a ref. He was fined $5K.

📼 @NBACobwebs pic.twitter.com/AW3jRWZKYP
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 31, 2024

The narrative pushed by the NBA

Not a fan of Jordan

A look back at one of Michael Jordan's lowlights: his performance in the 1990 Three-Point Contest