The 10 most difficult players to defend in NBA: Curry is out of the list, and Jordan is second., James fifth.
The 10 most difficult players to defend in NBA history, O ‘Neill actually surpassed Jordan, but Curry missed the list!
The NBA is an offensive league, and every fan likes to see players show amazing scoring ability and play wonderful offensive cooperation on the court. However, attack is also an art, and not every player can easily break through the defense and throw an efficient hit rate. Some players’ offensive talents and skills make defenders unstoppable and even make them feel desperate. Recently, the US media selected 10 players who are the most difficult to defend in NBA history. Some of these names may surprise you, while others may make you feel uncomfortable. So, who are these 10 players? Why can they get such an evaluation? Let’s take a look at it together.
Nowitzki is a German NBA player and one of the greatest European players in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 2007, led the Mavericks to beat the Heat Big Three to win the championship in 2011, and won the MVP in the finals. His offensive weapons are his CIC and Golden Rooster Independence. He can shoot a stable mid-range hit rate from any position, and he can also use his height and wingspan to complete a hook or a back jump shot inside. His independent action of golden rooster is very difficult to defend, because he can adjust his angle and strength in the air, and his shooting point is very high, which is difficult to be blocked. Nowitzki averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his career, and his total score was the sixth highest in history.
Iverson is the shortest No.1 pick in NBA history and one of the most influential players in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 2001, led the 76ers to the finals in the same year, and scored 46 points in the first game, giving the Lakers the only defeat. His offensive weapon is his speed and change direction. He has the fastest first step in the league, and can easily get rid of defenders and break through to the basket to score or pass the ball. He also has a very dexterous and elusive change of direction, and his crossover has become a classic teaching case. Iverson averaged 26.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.6 steals in his career, and won the scoring championship four times.
Durant is one of the most difficult defensive players in active service and one of the most talented scorers in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 2014, led the Warriors to win the championship in 2017 and 2018, and won the MVP in the finals twice. His offensive weapon is his height and projection. He is 2.10 meters tall, but he has the shooting skills and athletic ability of a guard. He can throw an efficient three-pointer from any position, or he can dunk or hook with his height and wingspan inside. At the age of 22, he won the league scoring champion and became the youngest scoring champion in the league. Durant averaged 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in his career. He is the only player in history who can shoot 180 shots with three points on the stage of the finals.
Olajuwon is one of the greatest centers in NBA history, and the only player in NBA history who has completed a personal Grand Slam in a single season. He led the Rockets to consecutive championships in 1994 and 1995, and won the finals MVP twice. His offensive weapon is his strength and skill. He has the opposing power that a center should have, as well as speed and flexibility. He has excellent steps and turns in the low post, and his dream dance steps have become a compulsory course for many centers. He also has a good CIC ability, which can open up space or break through opponents. Olajuwon can score 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 3.1 blocks per game in his career. He is a player who combines offense and defense and one of the most difficult centers to defend in NBA history.
Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history and one of the most influential and legendary players in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 2008, led the Lakers to win the championship in 2009 and 2010, and won the MVP in the finals twice. His offensive weapon is his will and skill. He has a tenacious fighting spirit and a desire to win, and he can never give up under any circumstances and make amazing performances. He also has very comprehensive and exquisite offensive skills, can shoot a stable hit rate in any position, and can also use his body and feet to score or pass the ball inside. He also learned dream dance steps from Olajuwon, making himself more difficult to defend. Kobe Bryant averaged 25 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game in his career, won the scoring champion ten times, and the total score was the fifth highest in history.
James is one of the greatest players in active service and one of the most comprehensive and influential players in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013, led the Heat, Cavaliers and Lakers to win the championship in 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2020, and won the MVP in the finals four times. His offensive weapon is his omnipotence and vision. He has excellent physical fitness and athletic ability, and can play in any position and adapt to any style of play. He can throw an efficient three-pointer from outside, or he can use his height and strength to dunk or hook inside. His greatest strength is his ability to connect teams in series. He has a very good passing vision and creativity, which can create many opportunities for his teammates and win the game by himself at critical moments. James averaged 27.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game in his career. He is the only player in history who can enter the top ten in total points, total rebounds, total assists, total steals and total blocks.
Fourth place: Chamberlain
Chamberlain is one of the most dominant and mythical players in NBA history and one of the most controversial players in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 1960, led the 76ers and Lakers to the championship in 1967 and 1972, and won the MVP in the finals twice. His offensive weapon is his height and strength. He is 2.16 meters tall, but he has amazing jumping and speed. He can dunk or hook at will on the inside, and he can also use speed and flexibility to break through his opponent on the outside. He has created many incredible scoring records, such as 100 points in a single game and 50.4 points in a single season. Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in his career, ranking first in scoring and second in rebounding.
Jabbar is one of the greatest centers in NBA history and one of the most persistent and stable players in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1980, led the Bucks and Lakers to the championship in 1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988, and won the MVP in the finals twice. His offensive weapon is his hook. He has a height of 2.16 meters, but he has a very flexible and elegant shooting action. He uses his height and wingspan to complete the hook inside, which is very difficult to defend, because he can adjust his angle and strength in the air, and his shooting point is very high, which is difficult to be blocked. Jabbar averaged 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game in his career. He is the player with the first total score and the third total block in history.
Jordan is one of the greatest players in NBA history and one of the most legendary and influential players in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998, led the Bulls to win three consecutive championships in 1991-1993 and 1996-1998, and won the MVP in the finals six times. His offensive weapon is his will and skill. He has a tenacious fighting spirit and a desire to win, and he can never give up under any circumstances and make amazing performances. He also has very comprehensive and exquisite offensive skills, can shoot a stable hit rate in any position, and can also use his body and feet to score or pass the ball inside. He also learned dream dance steps from Olajuwon, making himself more difficult to defend. Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game in his career, and won the scoring champion ten times, ranking first in the history of scoring per game and fifth in the history of total scoring.
O ‘Neill is one of the most dominant and domineering players in NBA history, and also one of the most controversial and individual players in NBA history. He won the MVP in the regular season in 2000, led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002, and won the MVP in the finals three times. His offensive weapon is his weight and strength. He is 2.16 meters tall, but he weighs more than 150 kilograms. He can dunk or hook at will on the inside, or he can use his strength and speed to break through his opponent on the outside. His weight makes many teams have no way to take him, so they will sacrifice shark-cutting tactics. After all, O ‘Neill’s free throws can’t be mentioned, otherwise, O ‘Neill may really surpass Jordan to become the first person in NBA history. O ‘Neill averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks in his career, making him one of the most difficult defensive players in history.
These are the 10 most difficult defensive players in NBA history selected by American media. What do you think of this list? Who is the most difficult player to defend in your mind? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to share your views and ideas!
