Scottie Pippen
The versatile forward did incredible things with and without Michael Jordan
Throughout the offseason, the team at Bulls Confidential is going to reveal our picks for the top 25 best players in Chicago Bulls franchise history. We are measuring overall impact on the organization, community, and how they impacted their team. Follow along on Twitter by searching #BC25.
10. Dennis Rodman
9. Luol Deng
8. Jimmy Butler
5. Bob Love
4. Derrick Rose
3. Jerry Sloan
For the entirety of his 17 seasons in the NBA, Scottie Pippen wore number 33. To most fans of the NBA, he’s more of a number two.
30 years before we all lost our minds lamenting Jimmy Butler’s departure to Minnesota, there was a similar draft-night trade. The Bulls traded University of Virginia center Olden Polynice, a second-rounder and first-round swap rights for Pippen, a forward from the University of Central Arkansas. Polynice went on to have a 15 year NBA career, no easy feat, but I think it’s safe to say Chicago won the trade.
It took less than a season for Scottie Pippen to claim the starting small forward spot for a Bulls team that was still clamoring for any postseason success. With a slightly more seasoned Michael Jordan leading the way, Pippen helped Chicago reach the Eastern Conference Finals twice in a row. Despite losing twice to the Bad Boys Pistons, it was no mistake that something special was brewing among Jordan, Pippen and power forward Horace Grant.
Pippen was lauded for his mastery of the “all-around game” and his elite perimeter defense. His game had few weaknesses, especially once he improved from long range, and his unbelievable athleticism made him the type of player that every team in the league would drool over today. If Jason Kidd went into a lab and created the ideal player for his positionless, long-armed roster, he’d come out with Scottie Pippen. Those tools served him quite favorably in the 90s as well, earning him three All-NBA First Team honors and a spot on the All-Defensive First Team for eight consecutive seasons.
In case Scottie Pippen’s name alone hasn’t earned him the No. 2 spot in your mind, here’s a few more numbers. Among all Bulls, Pippen is second in games played, minutes played, total points, steals, assists and box plus-minus. It’s also important to note that he would most likely be first in a lot of these categories if it weren’t for a certain teammate of his. He has the sixth most career steals in the history of the NBA, and in the playoffs, he’s first (with LeBron James hot on his heels).
Pippen was a ferocious defender, always pressuring and poking the opposing team into uncomfortable territory. His defense often turned into easy points for Chicago as well, most famously at the end of Game 6 of the 1997 Finals. Pippen came out of no where to tip away the inbounds pass from the Utah Jazz and managed to get the ball to Toni Kukoc to close the lid on the dynasty’s fifth championship.
Pippen’s legacy in Chicago undoubtedly has black spots. The rumored trades, the actual trades, the 1.8 seconds debacle and the Game 7 migraine all have to be considered when we think about Pippen’s place in Bulls history. However, 12 years is a long time, and I’m going to go ahead and cut some slack to the guy that had to play alongside a psychotic, bullying gambling addict for most of his career. Not every day is going to be sunshine and rainbows.
In a sense, this post is pretty unnecessary. The whole BC staff knew who the first two spots belonged to as soon as we came up with the idea for the series. Not many Bulls were named one of the 50 greatest players of all time in 1996. Not many have two Olympic gold medals and six championships. Not many led their team in every major statistical category across an entire season (Pippen did it during the 1994–95 season, becoming only the second player in NBA history to do so).
Scottie Pippen may never be thought about much without including the subject of our final post, but he was damn good. The No. 33 jersey hanging in the rafters of the United Center is proof enough.
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