Gloves: In the 1996 finals, I defended Jordan from 33 points to 23 points. I have no energy anymore.

May 26th News Recently, NBA legend Gary Payton talked about the 1996 Finals in the "Club520" podcast.

Payton said: "I performed well in 1996. You see I said on the cover of Sports Illustrated that I was the first point guard to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, but people don't know I was injured and I couldn't move.

"We were too far behind in the finals, Jordan averaged 33 points per game, and I said I'll guard him, and I let him score down to 23 points. Jordan regarded that as a personal grudge, but Phil Jackson asked taller players to defend me, and he asked Pippen to defend me, and it was difficult to score and defend Jordan at the same time. By the sixth game, I was already very tired. ”

After Payton defended Jordan, the Supersonics scored two consecutive games to 2-3, but the Bulls defeated the Supersonics in the sixth game to win the championship. In the first three games, Jordan shot 46%, averaging 31 points; in the last three games, Jordan shot 36.7%, averaging 23.7 points.