Brian Shaw faced off against many tremendous players during his 14-year stint in the NBA.
As the 24th overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft, Brian Shaw entered the league when Michael Jordan was on his astronomical rise.
The Chicago Bulls legend would go on to win six NBA Championships in six tries during the 1990s. Evidently, Shaw faced off against MJ several times during that era.
Photo by Bongarts/Getty ImagesMichael Jordan was the ‘hardest person’ Brian Shaw had to guard, but Steve Colter was a close second
Jordan’s insane scoring prowess made him a matchup nightmare for most NBA stars of that era. In fact, many believe that Jordan was the hardest player to guard on the hardwood.
During a recent appearance on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast, Shaw made the same admission about Jordan. But he also named a rather underrated player who made life tough for him.
“The hardest person that I had to guard, I think the obvious choice is Michael Jordan, but a guy that probably nobody out there knows. It was a guy named Steve Colter,” Shaw said.
He added: “I couldn’t get his cadence, and I picked him up full court.”
For context, Steve Colter played in the NBA for just eight seasons, including stints with the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers.
Considering Colter averaged just 6.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game for his career, one may wonder what made him such a difficult player to guard on the court.
Brian Shaw explains Steve Colter’s technique that made life ‘difficult’
The 3x NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers then explained in detail Colter’s dribbling technique that he could never grasp.
“You’d look at him, you’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, I got him’. And then he comes down, and he goes through his legs, and it seemed like he was double-jointed or something.
“Dropped his knee and then threw the ball behind his back, and he’s over here and I’m over there,” Shaw continued.
“And so, he was somebody that, for whatever reason, I just couldn’t catch his cadence and had a difficult time guarding,” Shaw concluded.
Shaw’s revelation proves that the stats do not always tell the full story. It also highlights the gap in skills between an NBA player and the average person.