“Scottie Pippen Was The Dream Team’s MVP”: Former Wizards All-Star Once Put Bulls Legend Over Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, & Larry Bird

Scottie Pippen is arguably the best two-way player to play the game of basketball. A 6ft 8’ forward, who came in as the 5th pick of the 1987 Draft, found himself traded to the Chicago Bulls by the Seattle Supersonics.

Nothing before or after that could have been a bigger bliss for Pippen, Michael Jordan, and the Bulls. In the following years, they became the most dominant team in the NBA since Bill Russell’s Celtics.

As much credit as MJ gets for all he did in the 90s, Scottie was also a big part of why nobody got an answer for the Bulls whenever they made it to the NBA Finals between 1991 and 1998. He was also the mind behind the Dream Team’s glory.

Also read: “I felt Magic Johnson didn’t like me”: Michael Jordan Revealed how a Rumour Split the Bulls legend and Lakers Legend Early in his Career

Scottie Pippen was the Dream Team’s MVP according to Gilbert Arenas

The world had no answer for how to deal with Pippen and Jordan. They proved it in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 along with several other superstars of the league representing Team USA.

However, a certain All-Star guard against the 2000s believes Pippen was the most valuable player in a team that had some of the greatest basketball players of all time.

A couple of years back, in an episode of No Chill with Gilbert Arenas, the 3x All-Star who played in the NBA for 11 years and is one of the NBA’s biggest “What Ifs” discussed who actually was the MVP in the Dream Team.

That group of several superstars not only brought the Gold medal, playing for Team USA but also popularized the game like never before. The Wizards guard said that Pippen “was the most valuable in the team,” for being the highest assists provider in the tournament when the team had Magic Johnson and John Stockton.

Also read: “Scottie Pippen Could Guard You All Day, All Night”: LeBron James’ Former Teammate Iman Shumpert Praises Michael Jordan’s Proverbial ‘Robin’ For Being Great At His Craft

Pippen was absurdly multidimensional

If Scottie Pippen played at the point position he would have excelled at it. He could have been the scorer if he wanted to, and was an elite defender for 10+ years on a nightly basis. His 10x All-Defensive Team selections are a testament to the latter.

However, being the jack of all trades and playing second fiddle most of his career meant he couldn’t master either scoring or playmaking.

But, whenever his teams needed anything, he always rose to the occasion. Be it guarding a big man or a smaller guard he had the strength and quick feet for both. Pippen would probably always stay the most underrated player of all time.

Also Read: Michael Jordan Said Scottie Pippen and Him Bonded over Quarrels With Dennis Rodman and the Bad Boy Pistons

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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