Could Michael Jordan have won championships without Scottie Pippen?

Question

MJ was Da Bulls!
1991 Finals: 31.2 ppg, 11.4 apg, 6.6 rpg, 55.8 FG%
1992 Finals: 35. 8 ppg, 6.5 apg, 4.8 rpg, 52.6 FG%
1993 Finals: 41.0 ppg, 6.3 apg, 8.5 rpg, 50.8 FG%
1996 Finals: 27. 3 ppg, 4.2 apg, 5.3 rpg, 41.5 FG%
1997 Finals: 32.3 ppg, 6.0 apg, 7.0 rpg, 45.6 FG%
1998 Finals: 33.5 ppg, 2.3 apg, 4.0 rpg, 42.7 FG%
In those finals he also has mutiple steals, blocks, & clutch shots. With numbers like that he could of won with anyone that played with him. There are a group of people that's trying to say MJ didn't make the Bulls much better. They're trying to use the record the Bulls had in his first retirement and the season that followed. But they always seem to forget that MJ also led the Bulls to the best record in history(72-10). Do you think the Bulls would of got close to that without MJ? Hecks no! With MJ the the Bulls won 6 titles, without MJ they didn't even see the finals...and the years MJ was without Pippen, MJ was in his developing stage or he was to old(Wizards).

MJ also could of took up the defense Scottie did.
MJ was 9 time all nba defensive 1st team, 1988 Defensive Player of the Year, & led the league in stills for 3 years. So defense wouldn't of been any problem.

MJ's first years without Pippen he was developing into a team leader, and as a Wizard he wasn't coming back to win a title. He came back to teach the much younger players on his team. MJ was 38 to 40 playing with the Wizards. So give him a break when it comes to that. Whoever mentions MJ's Wizards years are MORONS anyways! Do we judge Ali by the fight when he lost to Holmes? Hecks no! Because Ali was past his prime & so was MJ with the Wizards!

Tweety,
you mention 55 & 57 but seem to forget about 72. Why is that? If you're going to mention records, make sure you mention everything to make a legit point.
And Hoopfan,
now you're contradicting yourself. At first MJ wasn't even good in college(I remember you mentioning Worthy) and now to prove a point MJ was already a developed star....lol. You crack me up! Every basketball player goes threw a growing stage. When MJ first got to the league he was just all offense(by driving to the basket). As the years went by, he became a better outside shooter, he became better at defense, and he learned to be a team leader by trusting his teammates. So no, I'm not making excuses. I'm just stating facts. MJ wasn't developed his first years in the NBA.

P.S. and you already know these things Hoopfan. So why do I got to constantly break things down for you? You know everyone improves as the years goes by. Pippen was just lucky to be there for the ride!

You're a hater Tweety,
now pay attention because I'm about to make you look stupid by using YOUR own logics against you. Okay, you keep saying Pippen by himself had a better record then MJ did by himself, right? But then you'll turn around and say that the Bulls wouldn't of got close to 72-10 in the 80's(meaning they would of had a worst record).....LMAO at you because you know this is checkmate, RIGHT? Anyways, when MJ had the Bulls without Pippen wasn't that the tough old 80's?...lol...and did'nt Pippen have them in the weak old 90's?...LMAO at you again!....and not only that, you are comparing a rookie, someone that was hurt his 2nd season, & a 3rd year player in the 80's to someone that's been past his 1st 3 years, been on a 3 time championship team in the 90's, now how stupid it that?.... So quit all that MJ hating because I'll make you look dumb everytime. I'm the KING of debating & you or the other MJ haters can't touch this! YOUR MJ POINTS ARE SENSELESS! POINT BLANK!

Answer 1

Yes
Michael Just made everyone better
He was unselfish in some moments so he gave scottie pippen a name pippen made nothing on teams outside bulls

Answer 2

Why are you constantly making excuses for Jordan?

Face it, without Pippen, Jordan was a LOSER!

He posted 3 LOSING records until the Bulls drafted Pippen. His playoff record without Pippen is a whopping 1-9.

"Yeah but he was in his developing stage"...give me a break. He won a NCAA championship in college, he was a 2-time player of the year in college, and he had just won an Olympic gold medal. I think he was already developed by the time he started LOSING with the Bulls.

Agent zero.....you make an excellent point. The Bulls WERE one horrible foul call away in 1994, all WITHOUT JORDAN. Chicago was supposed to fall apart that year. How could they get one stupid call away from the finals without the "GOAT" there to lead them?

And "Joey".....do you REALLY remember 1994 and 1995? Because if you did, you'd remember that Jordan DID return at the end of the 1995 season but STILL couldn't get the Bulls past the second round of the playoffs.

__________________________________________

I never said he wasn't good in college. What I said was that when he won the NCAA championship, he was a supporting member. Worthy was the all-american and leading scorer on that team. That's not a knock on Jordan, that's just fact.

Worthy then retired, and Jordan moved up to the team leader role. He was the college player of the year that year and the next, and North Carolina was the #1 seed both years. They had a all-star supporting cast, but under Jordan's leadership, they lost in the sweet sixteen and then in the elite 8.

And even Dennis Rodman said the 96 Bulls wouldn't have come close to 72 wins, had they played in the 1980's. The 90's were loaded with expansion teams, thereby diluting the talent pool.

"Trust his teammates?!?".......OMG.....you've got to be kidding. We're talking about the most selfish player in history here. Jordan NEVER trusted his teammates. He was the worst team player EVER.

Answer 3

First... calm down.
Second... Jordan is the GOAT. Only haters don't know this.
Third... Jordan played in my winter league last winter (and KILLED at 40+ years old) and I asked him that question. Know what he said? "Every championship team needs two threats."

Look up every NBA championship roster going back 30 years (the modern NBA era). Every championship team has at least two guys that had to be accounted for on offense. It's true...

Now would the Bulls have gotten someone else at some point? Probably. But Pippen is on the 50 Greatest for a reason. The most complete player I would say since the Big O.

BTW- if you remember... The Bulls were one TERRIBLE foul call against the Knick sin the 94 Playoffs from going to the Finals v. Hakeem and the Rockets

Answer 4

Michael Jordan would have win some but not all of Chicago's six. Sure, Michael Jordan is a good defender, but he could never defend two good offensive players at once. Thus, Scottie Pippen was there to relief the defensive load. With the defensive load lessened, Jordan was able to relax and played his best. In the end, six championships. Bulls without Pippen, four max.

Answer 5

michael jordan is not considered the best ever for no reason, even without scottie, he will find a way. He might not have won as many championships as he did with scottie by his side, but he will get his share. That's how good MJ was! I don't agree with the guy on top referencing about MJ's career with the wizards, MJ was past his prime when he joined the wizards, take any of the top athletes today in NBA and let's see them score 40+ points when they're already 40 yrs old and is the only offensive threat in their team.

Answer 6

No just like at his record with the Wizards and Bulls without Scottie, Jordan needed Pippen in order to win the 6 NBA Titles.

Answer 7

Pippen was a fantastic player and a Hall of Famer, but MJ would have won those titles without him. I think we all remember those 94 and 95 seasons when the Rockets won and MJ was retired. As for the idiots who said what happened with the Wizards, lets think here. The wizards had nobody except for self centered idiots like Jerry Stackhouse and Kwame Brown, and MJ was in his late 30's when he was playing for the Wizards. You can expect the man to be playing like he's 25.

Answer 8

Absolutely not.

Your question erroneously assumes that Michael could have GOTTEN to the finals without Pippen.

Jordan NEVER MADE IT OUT OF THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS WITHOUT SCOTTIE PIPPEN AS A TEAMMATE.

The Bulls had losing records in EACH of Jordan's first 3 seaons, and his record in the playoffs was ONE WIN AND NINE LOSES. Three straight first round exits!!

It wasn't until AFTER Pippen joined the Bulls that they started winning anything.

After Jordan's first retirement, the Bulls drop a WHOPPING TWO GAMES IN THE WIN COLUMN (57 to 55)...this after replacing the "greatest player of all time" with a CBA player!! LOL

Plus, they even make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs, with Scottie, and without Michael...which is better than they ever did with Michael/but without Scottie...In 1994, Scottie became the 2nd player in NBA history to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals... yeah, Michael made him better.

Also in 1994, Pippen, B.J. Armstrong and Horace Grant ALL MAKE THE ALL STAR TEAM... even though Michael wasn't there to "make them better". What does THAT tell you, other than the fact that these guys were better WITHOUT Michael than they ever were WITH HIM! LOL

Jordan played five years of his career without Pippen. ALL FIVE WERE LOSING TEAMS.

Now, what was that you were saying about JORDAN making SCOTTIE BETTER???

Without Pippen, Jordan doesn't even GET to the finals to put up all those shots/points.

As a great man once said, without Scottie Pippen, Jordan was nothing more than a bald-headed Dominique Wilkins.

_____________________________________________

I mention Jordan's Wizard years because those are the only years you ever saw him play.

___________________________________________

Jordan got better and better as an outside shooter? Check out his FG percentages in the finals, which YOU posted in your question. Notice any trends?


_______________________________________________

That's fine that the Bulls won 72 games that one year....so what? Jordan didn't do it by himself... as we've already pointed out to you, Jordan never got ANYWHERE by himself in terms of winning teams or postseason success. No winning seasons without Scottie as a teammate... five LOSING seasons without Scottie as a teammate.

And yes, even Rodman admitted that the Bulls never would have won that many games in the 80s... in the 90s, the talent had been diluted thoughout the league, not to mention all of the high school players who didn't know how to play basketball...

If anyone was along for the ride, it was Michael, not Scottie... the Bulls did far better with just Scottie than they ever did with just Michael...

Yup, they won 55 games with Scottie and without Michael... let's check to see how they did WITH Michael but WITHOUT Scottie...
38, 30 and 40 wins... ALL LOSING TEAMS. (and see, I didn't even mention the Wizards).

_______________________________________________

Quit pretending you know something about chess.

________________________________________________

Michael is definitely one of the GOATs...he's just not THE goat.

Answer 9

Maybe 1 but no more than that without Pippen.

Answer 10

basketball is a team game, although one player can dominate... it won't necessarily translate into a championship. michael jordan couldn't have won those championships without an excellent support cast, led by scottie pippen.