“The way Dennis Rodman guarded Jordan and Pippen, I thought he might be better than me”: Metta World Peace anoints The Worm as the NBA’s greatest wing defender of all time on The Draymond Green Show

Metta World Peace admits that 7-time NBA rebounding champion Dennis Rodman was probably the greatest wing defender ever.

Dennis Rodman has a unique legacy in the history of basketball. This is a man who’s commonly regarded both as the greatest defender as well as the greatest rebounder ever.

The Worm’s rise is among those fairytale stories that may never come close to being replicated in the future. It was only after experiencing a growth spurt, years after finishing high school, that he picked up basketball seriously.

Rodman never played NCAA basketball and was never considered even close to an NBA talent. However, once he impressed the Detroit Pistons and made a spot for himself, there was no turning back.

The Worm immediately emerged as one of the league’s most robust, yet versatile defensive forwards. His impact was such that Chuck Daly opted to often play him over 2-time scoring champion Adrian Dantley.

Dennis Rodman is perhaps the only player in basketball history to have done a decent job of guarding both Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. It’s for this reason that his name comes up so often in GOAT defender discussions.

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Metta World Peace was in awe of the way Dennis Rodman defended Jordan and Pippen for the Pistons

Any GOAT defender discussion without involving either Metta World Peace or Draymond Green is probably a fruitless one. Metta was the only perimeter defender to win the DPOY award in the 21st century before Kawhi did so.

At his peak, Metta had incredible strength, active hands and used his instincts to stifle the league’s best scorers. He earned praise from the very best in the business, and for very good reasons.

But when it comes to being the greatest perimeter defender, Metta World Peace stays humble. Draymond Green posed him a question regarding the greatest perimeter defender ever. Metta replied thus:

“So when I was during my prime, I definitely thought I was the best. I won a Defensive Player of the Year, and I probably would’ve won more if I wasn’t suspended.”

“But as I looked back at it and I was doing my research, especially after you came up with your comments. I actually looked at a lot of different wing defenders. And I think Dennis Rodman is probably the best wing defender that we’ve seen.”

“You’ve gotta go watch his tape, and I was looking at it. And I’m only familiar with him from the power forward position, but the way he guarded Jordan and Pippen, I was just like ‘Oh wow! This guy might be a wing defender than me!’ I never thought there were better wing defenders than me, you know!”

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