“He has a little bit more range than even Shaq had, Shaq had more power” - Scottie Pippen says 2-time MVP reminds him of Shaquille O’Neal
Scottie Pippen, a member of the famous Chicago Bulls trio that includes Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman, had a successful career in the NBA. In his 17 seasons in the NBA, he won the championship title six times, thereby making an undeniable claim to becoming a Hall of Famer.
Pippen played a huge role in making the Bulls a championship team, alongside Jordan. While Jordan's stardom overshadowed Pippen's, his impact on the team cannot be overlooked.
Despite his path with the Chicago Bulls ending on a sour note, the 7-time All-Star spent 12 seasons with the Chitown-based franchise.
In a bid to promote his book "Libere" (a French version of Unguarded), Scottie Pippen recently sat down for an interview with a French podcast called Trash Talk.
In the interview, Pippen was asked how he would guard Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo if he was part of one of the current NBA teams. He replied by saying that he doesn't think he's the guy to guard the Greek Freak since the Bucks forward is too big.
Pippen said:
"I don't think I'm the guy that could guard Giannis. I think he's too big," Pippen revealed.
He also stated that Antetokounmpo's defender should be keen to take him out of the paint:
"I think you got to try to force him out on the floor and when I mean out on the floor, you got to take him out of the paint, that's your first job," Pippen said. "Not an easy task by any means but he's definitely a dominant player, reminds me a lot of Shaq. But I'm gonna say he has a little bit more range than even Shaq had."
"Shaq had more power, more dominant, so he's gonna definitely be coming at you with shots that are 70-80% that he can make. Where Giannis is gonna be a little bit more out but still shooting shots that are around 55-60%."
A brief look into the career of Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan's Robin
Scottie Pippen was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics, now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder, but his rights were traded to the Chicago Bulls.
Pippen made his debut on November 7, 1987, in the Bulls' win against the Philadelphia 76ers. He made his name playing for Chicago for 12 seasons.
SCOTTIE PIPPEN!
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5th pick in the NBA Draft (Sonics)
6 x NBA Champion
7 x All-NBA
7 x All-Star
10 x All-Defense
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Pippen was the 1993-94 All-Star MVP, having posted 22.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game in the playoffs. He was also the 1994-95 steal champion as he recorded 2.9 steals per game in 79 appearances for the Bulls in the regular season.
The 7-Star All-Star is among the 75 greatest NBA players of all time and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.