"I'll stack our roster against the Warriors any day, especially our second three-peat team... prediction: Bulls in six" - Scottie Pippen
NBA Hall-of-Famer and six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen released his new tell-all book on November 9. Pippen dove into several things in the book to tell his side of the story, including Michael Jordan and the Last Dance ESPN 30 for 30.
"I'll stack our roster against the Warriors any day - especially our second three-peat teams...prediction: Bulls in six." - Scottie Pippen
Who you got - the Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippen-led Bulls or the Kevin Durant & Steph Curry-led Dubs? 🤔 https://t.co/H83bBRD2U6
Pippen said the second three-peat Chicago Bulls would beat the Golden State Warriors in six games in a seven-game series. Pippen wrote:
“Prediction: Bulls in six. (The series couldn't go seven. After all, we were never extended to a Game 7 in the Finals.).”
“Me or Kevin Durant at small forward? You could go either way.”
😂 https://t.co/herEUOaY7y
He also lined up each starting player by position, as well as key bench players.
Ever since Kevin Durant joined the powerhouse of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green at the Warriors, this has always been a discussion. The season before Durant joined the Warriors, Curry led the team to break the record for most wins in a season that the Jordan and Pippen Bulls had set.
This question has triggered some of the most compelling arguments among NBA fans, with both sides having good answers. However, it feels like Pippen has not done it justice by simplifying it to just a positional battle.
Is Scottie Pippen right in his thinking?
This is pretty much an unanswerable question. These two are the best teams in NBA history from a talent and success standpoint. Both teams have numerous Hall-of-Fame players with some incredible talent and coaches.
Many details would need to be accounted for before you could even start to think of this hypothetical historical matchup. For one, what era of NBA rules would they play in? If they played in 1997, maybe the Bulls would have the advantage, but in 2017, the Warriors could have the advantage.
Rare Michael JORDAN & Scottie PIPPEN highlight from the 1997 playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks.
Mike was wearing the AIR JORDAN 12 "Playoffs." The same ones releasing in FEB. 2022. (See video below 🔊) https://t.co/dPeaclWrDm
With no hand-checking, Jordan and Pippen could get to the paint and midrange at will in the modern era. How would the Bulls deal with the fantastic three-point shooting the Warriors have? The Warriors clearly have the better three-point shooters, leading to more points. The Warriors might be able to deal with the physicality that the 90s NBA had, and even if they could, it would take some time to adjust and take players out of their rhythm.
The issue with Pippen’s argument is that he simplifies the discussion to something that doesn’t have as much value as it once did. In today’s NBA, positions don’t matter nearly as much, and the league and teams are built more around stars, not position players.
If you want to make a star-by-star comparison, it could change the whole way you look at the matchup. Jordan vs. Curry or Durant, then Pippen vs. Curry or Durant, Dennis Rodman vs. Thompson, and Toni Kukoc vs. Green make it more balanced than just going by position. This almost makes it a little more even, matching players up based on their value to their team, not just their position.
can watch @KDTrey5 warrior highlights all day https://t.co/KvvfuYvmfZ
Pippen, despite being an all-time great NBA player, is not on the same level as Curry or Durant. At 23 years Durant won his third straight scoring title on the way to the NBA Finals. They beat the defending champions, beat a team that was in three of the last four Finals and beat the team that then went to two straight Finals. Curry won his own NBA Championship as the leading man and then broke the record for most regular-season wins.
This argument has so many different angles, with no possible answer. It will be one of those questions that NBA fans will argue for a long time, making it so much to think about.