"My first impression Jordan and my lasting impression of Jordan is how much effort he put forth on the defensive end. People don't talk about that enough." -@Laettnerbball on facing Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan’s ex-teammate Christian Laettner has highlighted a skill of the NBA legend that has been often overlooked.
The 61-year-old remains one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, having finished his career with six NBA titles(1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997). Interestingly, all of them came while playing for the Chicago Bulls.
Laettner, who played with the legendary star as a part of the USA team in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, was recently quoted in a report where he highlighted that Jordan was an impressive player even defensively as well, something which has not been talked about often.
"My first impression of Jordan and my last impression is how much effort he puts forward on the defensive end," Laettner said. "People don't talk about that enough. People don't stress that enough... MJ was the greatest defender, also."
Jordan ended his career after playing 1,072 games where he averaged 30.1 points per game, an incredible feat to say the least.
In all of the title-winning campaigns, Jordan was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. His best season in terms of points generation was in 1986-87 where he played in 82 matches and finished the campaign with 37.1 points per game to go with 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
"My first impression Jordan and my lasting impression of Jordan is how much effort he put forth on the defensive end. People don't talk about that enough." -@Laettnerbball on facing Michael Jordan