Although those weren't the quotes I was referring to, he basically reiterates what I was saying and defines that to him the toughest player to guard means A) someone he had to play a lot (he comes back at that repeatedly) and B) someone who didn't trash talk back to him or wasn't a "competitor" that would bring the ball back at him after he talked trash.

Payton was a prolific trash talker. It is obvious he values players that didn't give into his trash talking, which is what he is telling everyone. Regardless, he didn't think Stockton was a better player than he was.

FYI, regardless of what Payton says in his interviews, Stockton only averaged 14 ppg in the regular season and 12 ppg in the post season on Payton while shooting 50%. Not bad numbers, but certainly not what Payton is alluding to in this interview.