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$20 million worth Scottie Pippen benefited the most playing alongside Michael Jordan believes a former Bulls teammate

Akash Murty
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$20 million worth Scottie Pippen benefited the most playing alongside Michael Jordan believes a former Bulls teammate

As much as Michael Jordan benefited from having the best two-way player playing a second fiddle to him, Scottie Pippen also hit a jackpot when he landed in Chicago.

It is somewhat a common human trait to go against what the majority of people believe. We are attracted more towards a negative approach to a subject much quicker than the positive aspects of the same.

That is the reason why there are so many opinions on the internet about who is the ‘greatest of all time in their profession or field when we should just be admiring all things greatly if not be ourselves great at something.

Keeping that in mind, most have crowned Michael Jordan as the GOAT, and there are several LeBron James, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar supporters who believe them to be the best of all time.

Also read: Despite losing $500 million, Michael Jordan put $305 million on the line with help from Will Smith and Kevin Durant

And almost all of their supporters come down to one common opinion about how lucky Jordan was to have the players like Scottie Pippen play the second fiddle when he could have been the face of another franchise and one of the best players in the league himself.

But rarely do we discuss about how much Pippen benefited from going to a team that already had MJ.

Scottie Pippen benefited the most playing alongside Michael Jordan believes former teammate BJ Armstrong

Pippen came into the league in 1987 after Jordan had 37.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.5 blocks a game. This would be the best statistical year of his 15-year-career and establish him as the greatest scoring threat while also being an All-Defensive First Team calibre defender.

Having that kind of once-in-a-lifetime young teammate wouldn’t just have helped Scottie reach for greatness in his first year itself, it would have given him the idea that the league could be theirs after Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were done with it.

Imagine what motivation he must have had for his future and development as a player when he had a young Jordan speaking in his year every day in practice from Day 1. Their former teammate BJ Armstrong said so in The Last Dance docuseries.

“More than any other player, Scottie benefited from playing with Michael Jordan,” Armstrong said. “Because Scottie had this raw athletic ability. What he didn’t have was what Michael brought every day, which was the drive to be the very best every single day. The mental focus of the game.”

Also read: “Michael Jordan is the biggest fraud in NBA History!”: Former UNC player supports Scottie Pippen, calls out Billionaire GOAT

It wouldn’t be fair to credit one for the greatness of the other when both of them helped each other and the Chicago Bulls to become a dynasty and such a powerhouse of a franchise that it was in the 90s.

About the author

Akash Murty

Akash Murty

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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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