Scottie Pippen: The overlooked legend
Scottie Pippen
Most of the great players could be described in one sentence. Michael Jordan, the greatest offensive player ever. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, the greatest center ever. Magic Johnson, the greatest Laker. But Scottie has always been described in one word: SIDEKICK.
He was always considered second best, always the “Robin” to Jordan’s “Batman”. All because he played along with one of the greatest athletes this sport has ever seen. Despite all this, Scottie is my favourite player of all time and this article is a tribute to him, one of the most complete players of basketball.
Scottie Maurice Pippen was never the best player in the league. Instead, I would say he was the most complete player throughout his career. His profile on nba.com has this to say about him:
“Scottie Pippen orchestrated an offense like a point guard, rebounded like a power forward, scored like a shooting guard and defended on the perimeter like few others.”
The perennial “sidekick”, Scottie thrived as the second best guy on the team. In fact, his role in the Chicago Bulls roster was considered so crucial that most basketball critics and analysts believe that Jordan couldn’t have won his six championships without Scottie, and he didn’t either.
All of his six rings came when he played side-by-side Scottie. It’s like the chicken-egg conundrum. We may never know how each would have fared without the other. Personally, I believe Michael wouldn’t have become the greatest offensive guard of all time without Scottie (and yes, this article will have a lot of Michael-Scottie comparison).
Stats: 16.1 PPG, 2.0 SPG, 5.2 APG and 6.4 RPG.
Awards (this is going to be long): Six-time NBA Champion, seven-time NBA All-Star, NBA All Star Game MVP, eight-time NBA All-Defensive First team, NBA Steals Leader, NBA All- Time Career Playoff Steals Leader, #33 retired by the Bulls, NBA 50th Anniversary all time team, Hall of Famer.
His stats speak for themselves. What impresses me most with Scottie was his effort on the court. Anything he did, he gave it his maximum, be it scoring, passing, rebounding or picking someone’s pocket. Scottie was selfless and always ready to play at whatever position the team required him to. Scottie’s original position was Small Forward.
At 6’8″, he was ideal for it. However, he played as a Point-Forward, Shooting Guard and at times Power Forward all in addition to his primary role. As an all-around player, I would choose Scottie over Jordan any day.
Most of this generation’s basketball fans wouldn’t have seen Scottie in action. They would have merely heard about him as a footnote in Michael’s tributes. I have included a few videos in this article just to correct this mistake.
Scottie himself summed it up best when he said: “Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.”
He was no great shakes at offense. But in what could probably be called the Golden Era of Basketball, Scottie was always a top five defender. Along with Michael, they formed arguably the most famous basketball duo of all time. Scottie led the team whenever Michael would take a rest. He always had exactly what was needed at any particular moment.
Scottie made the “Point-Forward” position his own during his career. Nobody, not even Michael could play this position better than him. Scottie consistently had five+ assists every year from 1989-2000.
Do you know the only other player during this same time period to have the same distinction? John Stockton, the all-time leader in assists.
His ball defensive skills were legendary. At their prime, Scottie and Michael formed the best perimeter defense in the NBA. For a 6’8″ Small Forward, on-ball steals weren’t really expected of him.
However, he had two Steals per game throughout his entire career. He was incredibly quick and never stopped working. His style of play has become the archetype for all smart forwards since then. His interception of the passing lanes, post-defense and ability to draw offensive fouls remain etched forever in our minds.
Scottie and Jordan used to play one-on-one games throughout their stay at Bulls after games to hone each others skills. Imagine that: The best offensive player of all time against the best defensive player of all time. No wonder they were both so good.
He was one of the rare players who was so good in one aspect that it overshadowed everything else. Scottie was such a tremendous defender and rebounder that his offense got very little credit. To be fair, on a team with Jordan, ANYBODY would get little credit for their offense. However, let’s take a look at Scottie’s offensive skills.
Pip could shoot, lay up, dunk and post at an All-Star level. It’s just that his defense was at a legendary level. Scottie’s mid-air clutches rival those of Michael’s.
Scottie was known for his fast breaks after causing a turnover. He was one of the best at the “Pick and go”. Hardly anybody could manage to stop Scottie when he was on a break. His dunks were also one of the hardest driven ones. He’s one of the few Small Forwards who can say that they have dunked over Patrick Ewing.
Scottie could also decimate any opposing team when required (in other words, when His Airness was out of form). He was one of the most dominating, physical Small Forwards to have ever played the sport.
Pippen and Jordan remain the greatest duo of Basketball. Both were fiercely competitive, incredible in different aspects of the game and had great respect for each other. Michael was indeed the better player and yes he had a greater impact on the game. But anybody who calls Scottie a mere sidekick is quite frankly, a moron. He was much more than that.