"MJ may not have won without Pippen"?

Question

Check out the article

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=smith_sam&id=1895719

"Scottie Pippen enabled Michael Jordan to be a champion."

"All Jordan, you say. Anyone playing the Robin role would have tallied enough to make the record books with Jordan dragging him and everyone else along to his own destiny.

Or perhaps not.

And it's not just the championships, which Pippen didn't win without Jordan. Though Pippen came a lot closer without Jordan than Jordan did without Pippen."


Thoughts? comments?

Agree or Disagree with the writer?

Answer 1

I agree. Pippen is Jordan's aid as was Jordan was Pippen's. Some may argue that Pippen was a better carrier but look Pippen didn't win any rings also without Jordan. How can you argue with the facts? Both needed each other to win, and that's the fact.

"When we went into battle, I knew I had someone to watch my back," Michael Jordan said. "I love him like a brother. He pushed me to be the best basketball player every day in practice. And I pushed him to be the best Scottie Pippen he could be."

http://www.nba.com/bulls/history/scottie_pippen.html

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Additional: 'Wolf please stop the hating! Pippen had been to good teams compared to Jordan's that's why he had more winning seasons.

1993-1994 Bulls - Defending Champions.
1998-1999 Rockets - Olajuwon and Barkley.
1999-2003 Blazers - Best Blazers team in years: Sabonis, Wallace, Grant, Stoudamire.

Pippen had a losing season in 2003-2004, back in a Bulls uniform with a record of 23 wins and 59 losses, ranking 8th in the Central Division where they finished as the 2nd worst-team in the league. By way of your reasoning he should have led this team to a more respectable record. Please don't inflate things too much. Pippen needed Jordan to win championship rings as much as Jordan needed Pip. It's a symbiotic kind of relationship, talking about the thing going for them.

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Hoopfan: I thought the coversation here is about Pippen, yeah maybe overlooked the fact that Pippen was injured at the time, but still the point is Pippen never won any "RING" without Jordan either. Pippen needed Jordan as Jordan needed the Pip man.

1998 Finals:
"Game 6, back in Salt Lake, was one of Jordan's finest performances ever. With Pippen SEVERELY limited by back pain, it was on Jordan's shoulders to deliver another title. It all came down to a Hollywood ending. With the Bulls trailing by one in the final minute, Jordan stole the ball from Malone and buried the series-winning jumper with 5.2 seconds remaining. Chicago beat Utah 87-86, and Jordan added his sixth Finals MVP trophy to his list of accomplishments."

In the 1997-1998 season Scottie Pippen began the season on the injured list, missing the Bulls' first 35 games while recovering from off-season left foot surgery. With Pippen down who do you think put up the task of leading the Bulls? At the very least put them on top with a 62-20 finish to tie them up with Utah? (Utah of course had the homecourt advantage over Chicago since they they swept the Bulls in their regular season encounters.)

http://www.nba.com/bulls/

Again it brings us out to the fact that without the symbiotic relationship of Pip and Jordan Chicago would never had any championship. Neither did the two of them. I do hope this ends the issue.

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Hoopfan I am not trying to discredit the effort that the other Bulls made. But when you say leader it goes to two or three persons. I've seen Toni Kukoc really eleveting his game when Pip was out even surpassing Jordan's and Pip's points sometimes and I see that leading... But Steve Kerr? Yeah really Steve Kerr? Am I over reading? Steve Kerr? Maybe Harper But Luc Longley? What? Luc Longley? Are you really Hoopfan or just a hater who just wouldn't admit that Jordan and Pippen did led Chicago in their glory days?

Leadership: the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members.

Answer 2

Peacemaker, if Jordan got 8 rings, so would Pippen, and he would because of Pippen. Imagine if MJ came back to the Bulls and Pippen was not there. Then he would only have 3.

Answer 3

You are correct, but regardless of Jordan with Pippen and vise versa. Basketball is a team sport. Every superstar needs the help and support of their teammates to win. It is a collective effort by 12-15 individuals to work hard and commit to a goal.

Jordan and Pippen were great, but they weren't the only guys playing for the Bulls.

Grant and Rodman led their teams in rebounding. And defended the opposing teams best low post players.

Paxson, Armstrong, Kerr, and Craig Hodges all at one point led the league in 3 point shooting so defenses couldn't pack down the defense to keep Jordan and Pippen from having easy lanes to the basket.

Kerr and Hodges also won the 3 point shooting contest too.

Longley and Cartwright kept opposing centers from dominating the middle with solid defense.

These guys made it much easier for Jordan and Pippen to be the players we know so much today.

Answer 4

i definitely agree because, if u watched them play, pippen allowed MJ to be the best because he ACCEPTED the supporting roll! Because of this, he and MJ formed one of the best 1-2 punches on defense that the NBA has seen and probably will see for a very long time.

both MJ and pippen were great on the fast break, so either one could finish if the other stole the ball, which was often...

Answer 5

Yes, what Alpha Wolf said.........Jordan - Pippen = Bald Headed Dominique Wilkins!

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"Thinker".... what do you call the 1983 and 1984 North Carolina Tar Heels? They were loaded with NBA talent and were favored to win it all both years. The "college player of the year" Michael Jordan couldn't even get them to the Final Four, so your argument carries no weight whatsoever.
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"lead his team to a more respectable record" by only playing in 23 games???......sounds like you're the one inflating things.

Jordan played in 17 games in 1995 with a HEALTHY Pippen, Kukoc, Armstrong, Kerr, etc.... and couldn't get them past the 2nd round of the playoffs ( which incidentally was where they ended up the year prior, without Jordan).

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One of Jordan's finest performances ever?........45 points on 15 of 35 shooting, and contributing ONE ( 1 ) REBOUND and ONE ( 1 ) ASSIST is a fine performance???

He's just lucky that the refs chose to look the other way while he shoved Bryan Russell in order to make room for his final shot. Pippen was doubtful for game 7, and Jordan's playoff record without Pippen is a dismal 1-10.

Who do I think led the Bulls while Pippen was out?.....Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, etc... once again, you're trying to give all the credit to Jordan. Somebody was grabbing the rebounds and setting up shots and playing defense while Jordan was hogging the ball.

Why don't you give Jordan all the credit for 1985, 1986, 1987, 2002, and 2003 then? Why wasn't he "willing" his teams to victory then?

Answer 6

i agree with you, basketball is a team sport no one can win it alone. i'm a jordan fan also but i really admire the other go to guy of chicago bulls. and pippen certainly has a great legacy of his own game. very nice Q to ask!

Answer 7

Yea this all good.. Pippen was a big name back in the day..

Answer 8

nobody can win a championship by theirselfes look at kobe he cant do another one without shaq he scored 81 but still didnt win a ring so jordan is still the best player to play the game

Answer 9

What are you a Kobe lover? You always have to put Jordan down to make Kobe look better. MJ could have done it with many and so will Lebron. Kobe sucks and never will.

Answer 10

What Alpha Wolf said.