Friday, December 08, 2006

#25 Scottie Pippen

This is part of my list of the 50 Greatest NBA Players Ever, where I will go through each player in a random order. #25 on the list is Scottie Pippen.


When you mention Scottie Pippen, you tend to get a lot of varying opinions. Typically what I hear most is that Scottie Pippen is very overrated and wouldn't have been nearly the player he was had he not been with Michael Jordan his whole career. I tend to take the complete opposite position.

Scottie Pippen is one of the most underrated players ever because he played with Michael Jordan. Some people might say 25 is too high of a spot for Pippen, but honestly I would be more likely to make him higher on the list than I would to put him lower. Obviously Michael Jordan was great, I think he was the best NBA player ever, but he's not winning all those titles without Scottie Pippen.

Scottie was a jack-of-all-trades. He was never a great scorer or great shooter, but he didn't have to be. And that's just a small complaint against a guy that did almost everything else well.

What was it that he did well? For starters, he's one of the best defensive players ever. He was quick enough to guard and disrupt PGs such as Mark Jackson in the 1998 playoffs, his long arms wreaked havoc with offensive players on the wing, and at 6'7'' he was tall enough and quick enough to guard guys down low. He's 5th in the NBA in career steals, nearly had 1000 career blocks, and was on either the 1st or 2nd team All-NBA Defense every year from 1991 to 2000.

But he was far from a defensive specialist. With his unique skills he practically started the concept of a "point forward." With his size and ballhandling skills that added another dimension to whatever offense he was in. He was also a great passer that averaged over 5 assists a game for his career. In 1992 he averaged 21 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 7.0 APG. Which reminds me, he was a pretty darn good rebounder as well, averaging 6.4 a game for his career but pulling down 7 or 8 a game during his prime.

And this was not all because of Jordan. In 1994 when Jordan retired for the first time, Pippen stepped up his game. He averaged 22 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 2.9 SPG, and finished 3rd in the NBA MVP voting. The team didn't do so bad either, winning 55 games on a team whose 2nd and 3rd leading scorers were Horace Grant and BJ Armstrong.

Later in his career as he joined Portland he lost a step or two athletically but still did whatever he could to help the Blazers come within a quarter of going to the Finals.The points when down a little as Pip scaled back shooting, but he kept rebounding, passing, and playing excellent defense.

Those that don't like Scottie will point out how he refused to re-enter the end of a playoff game after not having the final shot drawn up for him... and while I can't defend that action, I'm willing to forgive.

So while some might call Scottie Pippen overrated, I lean the opposite way. He was one of the great all-around players ever... he scored some, played great defense, rebounded, and was unselfish with the ball. He played with the greatest player ever, but that doesn't make him any less of a player.

16 comments:

Pacifist Viking said...

I thought Pippen should have been the MVP in '94.

I don't think I've ever seen a more versatile player than Pippen. I always hoped Grant Hill would be something like that, but it was too short-lived.

Anonymous said...

He was such a silky smooth player, one of the best off-the-glass shooters I've ever seen, just an amazingly soft touch for a guy his size.
As a Cavs fan, it was Jordan I really feared but Pippen would quietly kill them every time.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I think you forgot to mention that playoff game in '94 when he threw a Ben Wallace like tantrum and refused to take the floor. Tony Kukoc (the true star of the non-jordan Bulls teams of '94 & '95) hit the game winning shot at the buzzer while Pippen looked on from the bench like a loser.

Pippen was a decent player but can't even be considered as one of the best players in the NBA.

SAMO said...

Scottie was always underrated. Just look at how good he did when Jordan retired...you are right.

Anonymous said...

And don't forget when he abandoned his teammates and said he had a headache because he was scared of Bill Laimbeer.

He was a coward prima donna that was lucky to ride Michaels coat tails.

Anonymous said...

Jerry West and Jerry Sloan both said Pippen was one of the two or three best SG/SF defenders of all time. After the Bulls held the Jazz to 54 points in the 1998 NBA Finals, Phil Jackson called Pippen a "one-man wrecking ball." How anyone can define Pippen because of his mistake in the NY playoff game in 1994 is beyond me. It's also beyond me that so many people simply ignore his nine years as an all-NBA defender on the first or second team. That's voted on by coaches.

twins15 said...

Exactly... he made a mistake in 1994, and maybe he should have played against the Pistons in 1990... but to define his career by those two incidents rather than a fantastic body of work is something I don't understand. This guy was one of the best defenders EVER.

Anonymous said...

The worst day of my life was when he signed with the Rockets. He really jacked up their season...

twins15 said...

Pippen in the 1999 playoffs:

18.3 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 5.5 APG

Olajuwon in the 1999 playoffs:

13.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 0.5 APG

Anonymous said...

Scottie that high up is not mistake. Many have said that w/o him Jordan would not have won so many rings. I don't know if Jordan would admit that but it's true. The winning wasn't all because of Will Purdue and Luc Longley.

But I'll always remember how flat of a nose Pippen had!

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Anonymous said...

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Sports Social Networking said...

yes i am very agree Scottie was underrated because of Jordan. Obvious Jordan is class player but Scottie also.

Sports Social Networking Website

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