Did former Tar Heel Rasheed Wallace hit his head on something recently?
Wallace was a great collegiate player, highlighted by his 1995 First Team All-ACC honor and 16.6 points per game average, but he wasn’t Michael Jordan.
We all know MJ is the GOAT. He has a list of accolades that could write an entire book, but we’ll highlight the fact that he was a 1982 NCAA Champion, 1984 collegiate player of the year, a 14-time NBA All-Star and a perfect 6-for-6 in the NBA Finals.
MJ was a prolific scorer, but it doesn’t get talked about enough how he was also a 9-time member of the All-NBA Defensive First Team.
Even though MJ was a great defender, Wallace doesn’t seem to think so.
Rasheed Wallace: "Michael Jordan wasn't all that of a good defender."
MJ was All-Defense 1st team 9 times, DPOY, led the league in steals 3 times and has more blocks than any other shooting guard.
(Via @TylerIAm | @Underdog__NBA) pic.twitter.com/9sBxDBZkdW
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 31, 2024
“Mike wasn’t all that good of a defender,” Wallace said in a recent interview. “I’ve seen this mother****** get his a** bust where he couldn’t stop a mother****** – against JR Rider, probably against Clyde Drexler, s*** 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-Defense joints.”
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion – including Wallace. I don’t know if MJ ever hurt Wallace’s feelings, but Wallace saying MJ wasn’t a good defender is mind-boggling.
In comparison, Wallace wasn’t named NBA First Team All-Defense once. He was a prolific shot-blocker, though, averaging more than a block per game across 18 games.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.