10 facts that put MJ's GOAT status beyond reasonable doubt

#4 9 All-Defensive First Team selections, tied for #1 all-time

Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

MJ's reputation as a lockdown perimeter defender is so overshadowed by his greatness at the other end of the floor that most basketball fans clearly have no idea how good he was at locking people down.

At a time when there were all-time great defensive centers like Mark Eaton, Hakeem, Patrick Ewing and Moses Malone and lockdown perimeter defenders of the caliber of Sidney Moncrief, Alvin Robertson, Michael Cooper, Dennis Johnson, Mo Cheeks and Bobby Jones, MJ won the DPOY title pretty handily - that's just how good he was at that end of the floor.

He maintained the same level of defensive intensity through the entirety of his Bulls career. After all, the one play that probably defines his career the best came about in his last few seconds as a Chicago Bull when he stole the ball from Karl Malone and walked it up the court and knocked down a jumper from the elbow region against Bryon Russell.

There are circlejerks today that MJ took a backseat defensively during the Bulls' 3-peat, but anyone who actually bothered to watch those games knows the reality of his elite play at that end.