Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the ’90s.
Jordan won five MVPs, six Finals MVPs and 10 scoring titles with the Bulls, who three-peated twice and never lost in the NBA Finals.
Jordan got most of the credit for the Bulls’ success, which didn’t make Pippen happy.
“Everyone became so enamored of his acrobatic moves that they overlooked the intangibles that didn’t show up in the box score or the highlights on SportsCenter: taking a charge, boxing out your man, setting a pick,” Pippen wrote in his book. “The list is endless. I executed those fundamentals as well, if not better, than Michael did. Nonetheless, he was the superstar in everyone’s mind, not Scottie Pippen. Never Scottie Pippen.
“That was only because he was there first, three years before I came into the league. With him established, I was expected to remain the No. 2 guy no matter how rapidly I was developing on both ends of the court. Truth is, after three or four years, I was as valuable to the Chicago Bulls as he was, and I don’t care how many scoring titles he won. People don’t realize how valuable until Michael retired in 1993.
“In our first year without him, the Bulls won 55 games and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. If not for a horrible call by a ref in the closing seconds of Game 5 against the New York Knicks, we might have won another championship. Michael Jordan was 1-9 in the playoffs before I joined the team. In the postseason he missed, the Bulls went 6-4.”
The Bulls went an astonishing 514-177 in the regular season when Jordan and Pippen played.
Jordan, who went to UNC, averaged 31.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.8 blocks alongside Pippen, while Pippen averaged 17.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.9 blocks next to Jordan.
Pippen, who went to Central Arkansas, had two stints with the Bulls. He averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.9 blocks.
One of the top two-way players in NBA history, Pippen made seven All-Star teams, seven All-NBA teams and 10 All-Defensive teams with Chicago.
Jordan also played for the Bulls twice. He averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.9 blocks and won five MVPs, six Finals MVPs, three steals titles, 10 scoring titles and one Defensive Player of the Year.
Jordan made 12 All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams and nine All-Defensive teams with Chicago.
Most NBA fans thought Jordan and Pippen were close friends since they were fantasticteammates.
However, Pippen wrote in his book that he and Jordan were never close.
“Michael and I aren’t close and never have been,” Pippen wrote. “Whenever I call or text him, he usually gets back to me in a timely fashion, but I don’t check in just to see how he’s doing. Nor does he do the same. Many people might find that hard to believe given how smoothly we connected on the court.
“Away from the court, we are two very different people who have led two very different lives. I was from the country: Hamburg, Arkansas, population about 3,000; he was from the city: Wilmington, North Carolina.”
Even though Pippen is not close with Jordan, he knows they will always be linked.
“The two of us will forever be linked together, the best duo in NBA history,” Pippen wrote. “He helped make my dreams come true, as I helped make his.”
The Bulls retired Jordan’s No. 23 and Pippen’s No. 33 jersey. We may never see another duo win six championships and go undefeated in the NBA Finals again.