Yes they could, maybe no one would say that they are some of the greatest on-ball defenders of all time, but they are and were certainly great on-ball defenders in their prime.
In Jordan's prime Pippen took the other team's #1 option more times than not. Neither Lebron nor Kobe had that luxury on a consistent basis. Lebron has to consistently take the other team's #1 option many times regardless of position, guarding star players from 1-5 in important situations. I'm not saying he's definitely a better defender than Jordan was, but don't act like he's not a great on-ball defender and not in the same class as Jordan just because he has his some slip ups here and there.
Also I do know this thread isn't about their defense, it's just good to see more stats supporting Lebron's claim to the GOAT title. He might never get there, but it's time this blind and unflinching love affair with Jordan dies down a little.
His team was a contender without him during those "retirement" years. Scottie won All Star MVP, was the leading vote getter for 1st team all NBA and 1st team all-defense (which is almost a nod for MVP in and of itself), and finished 3rd in MVP, with even Phil Jackson and other media members saying he should've won it.
Obviously this is a "what if" scenario, but I truly believe a combo of Pippen and Hakeem would've been the dominant team in the NBA, regardless of who Jordan would've added to his team. Just showing that Jordan was an incredible player leading up a great all around team, everything came together just perfect for him to do what he did, he couldn't have willed any team to victory he just inherited the perfect team for him and them to succeed. Same way Steph inherited the perfect team for him to succeed, but he's not as dominant or complete a player as Jordan, and they just so happened to run into the player that can somewhat make that claim in Lebron.
