“I Guarded Kobe Bryant Alot, But its Michael Jordan”: Grant Hill Found MJ ‘Toughest to Guard’ Over Lakers Legend & LeBron James

Not a lot of players were fortunate enough to play with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. Most of all who did found stopping ‘His Airness’ was the most difficult.

Grant Hill was one of those stars who saw all three of them in their primes and had to play against each of those juggernauts throughout his career. The man wasn’t bad at it either.

However, at the end of it all, NBA’s most complete player of the 2000s once shared his opinion on who was the toughest to guard among the three GOAT contenders.

Also read: Despite $5 Million Payouts, Michael Jordan ‘Dreamt’ Of Succumbing To Cocaine Or Alcohol

When Grant Hill picked his ‘toughest to guard’ among Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James

The former Pistons Star considers Kobe Bryant the greatest he ever faced most probably because he had to guard him in particular for most of his career having come in 2-years earlier than The Mamba in the league.

In an interview with Dan Patrick a few years back Hill talked about how difficult it was to stop the former Lakers star whose resilience knew no bounds.

However, when Dan asked him who was the toughest to guard among Mike, Kobe, and LeBron, he chose the 6x Finals MVP.

“It’s definitely Jordan, I didn’t guard Jordan a lot, but when I did it was definitely Jordan,” Grant said, then went on about how tough it was to guard Kobe. Listen to it here.

Yeah, and he didn’t worry about bringing James into the conversation.

There was no stopping MJ

Both Bryant and James are also the kind of players whom probably no one in the future would touch in terms of work ethic, dominance, longevity, or countless other things.

However, when it came to killing on the biggest stages of all, nobody was as swift as Mike.

It’s been almost 20 years since the 6x NBA Champion retired from the league, several players came and went, and nobody has come close to averaging 30 points per game for more than 5 years. Neither in the regular season nor the playoffs.

MJ’s career averages are in the 30s, as that man won 10 scoring titles in a 15-year career. ‘Unstoppable’ was him.

Also read: “Michael Jordan Was the Most Stylish Guy on the Dream Team!”: Scottie Pippen Complimented His Former Teammate on His Dressing Sense

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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