Scottie Pippen: More Than Just the All-Time World’s Greatest Sidekick

Scottie Pippen was a key part of the Chicago Bulls legendary 90’s run. Selected 5th overall in the 1987 NBA Draft, the Seattle Supersonics traded him to the Bulls in exchange for future draft options and for center Olden Polynice – ever heard of him?

Pippen turned out to become one of the most consistent players of his era and was part of one of the greatest basketball eras and dynasties the NBA has ever seen.

The role he played for the greater part of his career was as one of the most versatile players in NBA history, one of the greatest defensive forwards of all-time.

Despite the accolades – a 7x NBA All-Star, 3x All NBA First Team and 8x NBA-All Defensive First Team to name a few – he still deferred all the spotlight to his teammate.

Pippen once stated: “Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.”

Even despite being the NBA all-time leader in steals and assists among forwards, Pippen accepted being in the shadows to Michael Jordan. It seems he was what Robin is to Batman, but truth is he was so much more than that.

Lets look at the 1993-94 season, when Jordan abruptly retired to chase a career in Minor League Baseball. Pippen carried the Bulls to a 55-27 record averaging 22 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.9 steals per game.

The following season Jordan would return midway through it though Pippen would become just the second player in history (after Dave Cowens) to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals.

Despite not winning any championships during Michael Jordan’s hiatus, Pippen was able to step out of Jordan’s shadow and show the world that he was more than just a sidekick.

Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan were the only members of all six Bulls championship teams. The two were both superheroes, but Pippen was just as much a hero himself as he was a sidekick.

Pippen was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in a list honoring the 50th anniversary of the NBA in 1996.

Not only is he still well within the Top 50 due to his versatility and consistency, but also because he was able to put winning above all else.

Shout out to all of those at #sportstalk. Originally posted at Wolf Gang Sports. I curate sports content on basketball, soccer, American football and more. Avid collector of sports jerseys, trading cards and streetwear paying homage to special moments in sports history. Check out the full blog and sign up to the newsletter to be the first to receive our sporting content that aims to provoke, thought, inspire and entertain.   



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According to the Bible, Can the word "god" be applied to other entities?

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