This is absurd
Pippen's career stats sans MJ we're that of a decent player, not near what they were with MJ.
More importantly, his teams were irrelevant. He never delivered, he never brought anyone to the promised land, he didn't even make his teammates better.
If he didn't play with MJ, he'd have zero rings. But he'd still have a great pension
Every team he played on without MJ was disappointing, them there high expectations never once attained
That argument is total conman's argument. Pippen stopped playing with Jordan in his 11th season at 33 years old. Not exactly his prime years. His prime years without Jordan, 1993-1995, were statistically his best seasons. 1993-94 he averaged 22 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.9 steals and .8 blocks. As I said earlier, it was also his best PER season, he finished 3rd in MVP voting and was All-Star Game MVP. In 1994-95 he averaged 21.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.1 blocks and his second best career PER.
I love the bull shit about never delivering championships without Jordan. Newsflash, Jordan never won a ring without Pippen either. I guess Barkely, Malone and Stockton were irrelevant also considering they never took their team to the promised land either.
But hey, don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Yes, also his back was f'd up pretty bad by the time he was 33. Even with all that he was a key component of a team that pushed the Shaq/Kobe Lakers to 7 games in Shaq's peak season.
Jordan retires, Bulls win 55 games, lose in 7 to the eventual eastern conference champion. What were they supposed to win the title going from MJ to Pete Myers? MJ was pretty good so that would've been difficult.
How could anyone say he would have 0 rings, we don't even know what teams he would be on for 15 years.
While we're at it though, what other guys that led teams to 55 wins and led them in all major categories are overrated? That must be a small list.
Yeah, I've always thought that 1993-94 kind of cemented just how good Pippen really was. You take the best player in basketball off of a 57 win team, and they go out and win 55 games. The guy was one of the best two way players I've ever seen. I remember they asked Karl Malone who he'd start a team with if he couldn't pick Stockton a couple years ago and he said Pippen. I don't agree with him, but that shows how much other guys in the league respected his game. I'll never forget that game 7 between Portland and LA in 2000. Lakers lived at the free throw line.
94-95 they struggled a little more but that was after losing Grant in FA to the Magic. Grant was by far the 2nd best player on the 93-94 team.
I guess Pippen has gotten underrated over time. Clearly the best perimeter defender of that entire decade. Versatility was off the charts too, guarded everyone in the finals from Barkley to Magic. It's just easier for people to underrate defense because for most of NBA history it was the non-quantifiable aspect of the game.
Another thing with Pippen is he was the perfect fit for the Bulls since they already had the best offensive player in the league. They didn't need another Dominique Wilkins or Clyde Drexler, they needed someone that excelled at doing everything else. Passing, rebounding, guarding the best player, scoring without as many plays called for you, etc
I guess Pippen has gotten underrated over time. Clearly the best perimeter defender of that entire decade. Versatility was off the charts too, guarded everyone in the finals from Barkley to Magic. It's just easier for people to underrate defense because for most of NBA history it was the non-quantifiable aspect of the game.
Another thing with Pippen is he was the perfect fit for the Bulls since they already had the best offensive player in the league. They didn't need another Dominique Wilkins or Clyde Drexler, they needed someone that excelled at doing everything else. Passing, rebounding, guarding the best player, scoring without as many plays called for you, etc
Could not agree more with this. He was the perfect #2 star. He didn't need 20 shots a game to make an impact on the game. He was always good for 7-8 rebounds, 5-6 assists, a couple steals and block. It's funny how guys like Jordan and Bird seem to get better as time goes on and a guy like Pippen is nearly forgotten. Guess that's the way it goes.
I would suggest 1 season is a small list my friend
my opinion is based on the rest of his career sans MJ
c'mon guys, NOTHING
he was supposed to me the missing link for the Rockets, then the Blazers, and those teams went nowhere. I don't think they even improved
they can't tell a different story, they tell a story that shows he was an all-star with MJ, and a disappointing roll player without MJ
it's that simple, unless somebody rewrote history and placed numbers where they don't belong. That happens a lot around here
Nope, Wilt led teams for multiple years, and he never played with MJ
Pippen did no such thing, just a horrible analogy
Pippen without MJ is Wes Welker without Tom Brady
