Scottie Pippen Was Fucking Great

Much more than just a second option, Pip was a Swiss army knife that did it all on offense while terrorizing the other squad on defense

There’s no need for a preamble. Let’s just say it: Scottie Pippen was fucking great. Not good. Not really good. Not very good. Great. Great great.

He’s been called the second-best player of the 1990s, quite a feat considering the all-time greats that peaked during that decade. Though he came close a few times, including losing in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals with the Portland Trail Blazers after holding a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, he never won a championship without Michael Jordan.

Like LeBron James a generation later, Pippen was star-crossed in his non-MJ years, from the officiating against the New York Knicks in ’94, to the failed Houston Rockets experiment in ’99, to the Blazers meltdown in ’00.

Yet his game was undeniable. His résumé speaks for itself: Hall of Famer, six-time champion, seven-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA First Team, two-time All-NBA Second Team, two gold medals, played all…