"I know a lot of guys who played against him that wanted to go home" - Byron Scott shares players intentionally racked up fouls to sit on the bench and avoid Michael Jordan
As someone who played against Michael Jordan for most of his 14-year NBA career, Los Angeles Lakers great Byron Scott knows what it was like to face off against the Chicago Bulls icon and experience the fear that came with it. It was an all-encompassing fear that left many cowering to the bench, afraid of how MJ might drop a barrage of points or a thundering dunk on their heads.
According to Scott, this intense fear led many defenders to intentionally get into foul trouble just so they could sit on the bench and not have to face Michael Jordan.
Opponents wanted to go home
Facing off against "Air Jordan" was a nightmare scenario for even the best defenders in the league. A 6'6" freak of nature who could jump off the gym and a mastery of the fundamentals that allowed him to decimate whatever defense was thrown at him, "His Airness" was an offensive force that opponents had no idea how to handle.
But beyond his physical abilities and basketball skills, Jordan's mental game set him head and shoulders above everyone. His unwavering confidence and determination often left defenders feeling so defeated they wanted no part of MJ during the game.
"I know a lot of guys who played against him, and they wanted to go home, too. Like, 'Man, I'mma foul him just so you can put me on the bench, so I ain't got to play.' I mean, there were some guys that just didn't want to play with him. They didn't want to play against him," Byron said in a conversation with John Salley on "Byron Scott's Fast Break."
Back then, nobody could blame those players for feeling that way, especially with MJ's relentless approach to the game.
"His mentality was: Destroy you. Demean you, finish you—you shouldn't even be on the court with me," Salley, a former Detroit Piston who became Jordan's teammate later in his career.
Byron echoed Salley's sentiments, saying the six-time NBA champion wanted to win and dominate his defender so badly that they'd never forget about it.
"He wanted to kill you; he wanted to embarrass you. Yeah, he wanted to make you quit, not just for today, but for life. Every time you faced him, he wanted to make you feel like, 'Man, I ain't got nothing. I can't do nothing with this dude. I don't even want to play tonight.' You know what I'm saying? He wanted to make you quit," Scott revealed.
Byron's special tactic
While trash talk is as commonplace in the league as jumpers and slam dunks, it was something that Scott never dared to do against MJ. Instead, he would use a unique tactic when defending Jordan: showering him with praise and compliments.
"They would be like, 'So how was it guarding Michael Jordan?' I said, 'Well, the way I guarded Michael is, I'mma play back. I'm gonna make him shoot jump shots.' I said, 'But the other thing is, every time he hit a shot, I was like, 'Man, good shot, MJ. That's a hell of a shot, dog. I'm right there,'" Byron disclosed with a smile on his face.
The 6'3" guard from Ogden, Utah, said he often tried to kill Jordan with kindness to escape the wrath that the league's most dominant player could bring down on him if he ever pissed him off.
"You know, I complimented him the whole night, every time he made a shot. Even when he missed it, I'd be like, 'Oh damn, that was right there.' I'd say, 'Cause the one thing I ain't going to do is piss him off 'cause he'll get 60,'" Scott asserted.
As exceptional a talent as Jordan was, there was a level he could always get to if someone pushed the wrong buttons. And Scott knew better than anyone not to get on his bad side.
