So what defenders @ the '2' in jordans era(that he played against) were better than artest, Roy, Battier, Bowen, Bell, Kobe, Prince, Posey etc. mentioned above. Im LOL at your lack of even approaching the question, citing David freakin stern quotes, pathetic. As great as MJ was, perhaps one of the only really long defenders he played against was Drexler. The rest were short, Dumars was supposed to be the best, but at a severe height disadvantage(3"), let alone a length disadvantage. Then there was craig Ehlo(????) who was one of the best in the early jordan era at defending MJ, craig freakin Ehlo, amazing! The NBA has changed, the rosters changed as the rules were enforced differently. The more no calls, the bigger each position will get, and the more the superstar rules are used, the more the value of superstars and dedicated defenders to guard them. When the league became a league of superstars, ball movement wasnt as important since only the superstar got the call.
Let me see, 2 guard defenders
then
Joe dumars 6' 3"
michael cooper 6' 4"
mario elie 6' 4"
Nick andersen 6' 5"
John starks 6' 3"
rolando Blackman 6' 6"
Pippen 6' 7"
Jordan 6' 6"
Peyton 6' 4"
Dan Majerle, 6' 6"
versus today
Artest 6' 7"
TMAC 6' 9"
Kobe 6' 8"
Bowen 6' 8"
Bell 6' 5"
Battier 6' 7"
Prince 6' 9"
Roy 6' 7"
Posey 6' 8"
R Jefferson 6' 7"
todays defenders at the '2' are 3-4" taller and 15-25 lbs heavier (outside artest). They are just plain better, more physical defenders
On the 1992-3 season here is an example all NBA defense 1st team/ 2nd team
Scottie Pippen, Chicago
Dennis Rodman, Detroit
Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston
Michael Jordan, Chicago
Joe Dumars, Detroit
Horace Grant, Chicago
Larry Nance, Cleveland
David Robinson, San Antonio
Dan Majerle, Phoenix
John Starks, New York
Majerle and starks would not make NBA all defense 2nd team today, and Dumars wouldnt make 1st. They would have to be picked over Billups, prince, roy, battier, Josh Howard, Posey, JKidd among others. I dont think so. Kobe Bryant or TMAC would just shred starks or majerle, shred them.
And as far as "coming around" to MJ>kobe, that would require some reading comprehension problems on your part( a def as there was nothing to come around to, you invented it in your mind). I do maintain that Kobe has seen stronger more athletic defenders on the ball, on average over his career, then MJ did.
Why did defense get so much better near the end of the jordan era? Was it the way teams, like rileys knicks, dared the refs to call fouls and slow down the game by fouling early? Was it new ways coaches found to get around the defensive rules? Was it the player evolution into bigger, stronger, or all of the above. One thing is for sure, very little has stayed the same since MJ was in his prime, making stats comparisons of players in the different eras shaky at best. In todays NBA the big long defenders of the '2' position that gave MJ the most trouble late in his career(byron russel, 6'8"), are the norm, not the exception. Joe dumars, John starks, Ron harper, derek harper(all 6'4" or under) all considered very good or great defenders back then would be called undersized for a '2' today. TMAC or Kobe would eat them up like Diaw eats a croissant.
