With the Oklahoma City Thunder on the verge of their first title, Scottie Pippen understands why Jalen Williams is being compared to him. The Bulls legend shared that he sees a lot of his own game in Williams’ and claimed the All-Star forward is capable of leading the Thunder to multiple championships. Pippen clearly has high praise for Williams’ game, but from the way he worded his statement, Draymond Green believes he was trying to send a different message.
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Pippen notably made the league MVP and OKC’s top star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, seem like a second fiddle in this equation. The Hall of Famer brushed over the superstar guard’s contributions when discussing Williams’ rise. The 24-year-old has All-NBA potential, but the Thunder would not be in their current position without SGA.
Knowing Pippen’s agenda against his former superstar running mate, Michael Jordan, Draymond Green questioned whether he was making another statement when discussing the Thunder co-star. Since retiring from the NBA over 20 years ago, Pippen has made it a priority to criticize MJ whenever he has the chance.
“Scottie Pippen want people to talk about Scottie Pippen like people talk about Mike,” claimed Baron Davis on The Draymond Green Show. “And we need to talk about Scottie Pippen more about Scottie Pippen. How cold Scottie Pippen is without Mike?”
Davis understands why Pippen wants more credit. The Bulls weren’t winning anything before he arrived, and even though MJ did most of the heavy lifting, the franchise wouldn’t have had nearly the same success without the multi-faceted forward. He also sees the comparisons between him OKC’s budding young star.
“We know he had Mike. That’s cool. But Scottie Pippen was cold,” Davis continued. “One of the coldest. Top 50. Top 25, when you start thinking about it … Scottie Pippen is the mold … He is the mold that you can see when developing a youth player. 6’8″, 6’9″, 6’10”, versatility. J-Dub I think is a Scottie Pippen.”
Davis believes Williams, similar to what Pippen was for the Bulls, is the key in getting his team over the hump. J-Dub is a player who can serve as a disruptor and a steadying presence, according to the former high-flyer. But he also has to carve his own path in the league and “create his own mold” to stick out as a 1-of-1 talent in the league.
Green agreed with Davis’ sentiment, stating that Pippen’s greatness cannot be denied. But he also believes the six-time champion’s words take away from his all-time talent.
“I think doing that dumbs down how great he is, though,” the Warriors forward added. “Because it almost make you get compared to Mike, which is like, come on now, we can’t really compare Scottie to Mike…” Davis responded, “Sometimes our ego don’t let us articulate and we gotta articulate how dominant that dynamic was.”
Scottie Pippen’s ego may never allow him to reconnect with his former teammate or see their dominance for what it really was. The pair elevated each other. Even if Pippen isn’t able to accept reality for what it is, everyone who witnessed the duo coast to six titles can testify to how unstoppable they really were.
