Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest player and scorer of all time, but he didn’t strike fear in former NBA guard Jon Barry’s heart the way Allen Iverson did. Barry appeared on the latest episode of Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast, where he was asked who was the toughest to guard between Jordan, Iverson, and Kobe Bryant.
“I did not want to get on the island with AI,” Barry said. “Look, I figured if I’m guarding Michael or Kobe, I got nothing to lose. They’re going to bust anybody’s a** they play. So I figured, hey, if I stop him a couple times out of six or seven trips, I’m feeling really good… I didn’t really care guarding Mike.
“Michael, he used to always just take me in the post,” Barry continued. “… So fine, you know what? Make your shake. If I get a hand up, that’s all I can do. If you’re at the top and you got AI and you see him getting ready for that cross, that was the worst.”
Barry’s point is pretty simple. The likes of Jordan and Bryant were going to beat you methodically. You’d often find yourself in the post when guarding them, and there would be no shame in having a fadeaway jumper drilled over you.
Iverson, on the other hand, could easily embarrass you with that handle. He was an incredible ball-handler and could freeze even the very best defenders in the NBA. There is, of course, that iconic moment from 1997 of Iverson crossing up Jordan.
Allen Iverson hit Michael Jordan with the crossover 24 years ago today 🔥
Still iconic. pic.twitter.com/b2GTS2K4Mz
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 12, 2021
If Jordan could be flummoxed, what hope did Barry have? Iverson got to play him 17 times and averaged 30.5 points per game in those meetings. It’s no wonder then that Barry hated guarding him.
As for the other two, Jordan averaged 27.5 points against Barry, while Bryant was at 23.9. Iverson did fare better than both of them. You do feel like it sometimes gets forgotten how well he could score.
Iverson won four scoring titles during his career, tied for the third-most in NBA history. Only Jordan (10) and Wilt Chamberlain (seven) won more. He was special.
As for Barry, the 21st pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, he never came close to leading the league in any major category. The 56-year-old averaged just 5.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game during his career. Barry, son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry, was a solid role player, though, which is why he lasted 14 seasons in the NBA.
During this episode, Barry also shared his list of the five greatest duos in NBA history. Jordan and Bryant did make that list, but Iverson did not.
