It took Michael Jordan seven years after his draft in 1984 to become an NBA champion despite his elite skillset on the court. He finally had the required supporting cast to win his maiden championship during the 1990-91 season and didn’t look back from there.
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That proved the fact that even an otherworldly talent like Jordan needed help to win an NBA title.
During an appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast, Dominique Wilkins pointed out exactly that. The Atlanta Hawks legend said that Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving’s Dallas Mavericks team couldn’t win the NBA Finals simply because they didn’t have enough complementary pieces around them.
To substantiate his point, Wilkins brought up how MJ couldn’t clinch an NBA championship until he had a stacked roster. The 64-year-old highlighted how an NBA championship is a team-based accomplishment, we can’t just pinpoint an individual who made it happen.
Wilkins believes that Jordan wouldn’t sniff six NBA rings without Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and other Bulls player who made winning plays regularly. He stated,
“If you look at the championships with Chicago for example. Mike doesn’t get six championship without those other pieces, Scottie, Horace Grant, Kukoc, eventually Dennis Rodman, all those people, Kerr, Paxson. I mean they were all special pieces to those championship teams and you can’t win without it.”
While Wilkins brought out Jordan’s example, his overarching point applies to all superstars who have won championships. LeBron James needed Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Anthony Davis, and Chris Bosh, among others to win four championships.
Meanwhile, both Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had stacked rosters during their championship runs as well.
It is impossible to win an NBA championship without the collective offensive and defensive might of a team. While MJ was a rare two-way superstar, he couldn’t have come close to his titles if Scottie Pippen hadn’t developed into a two-way maestro as well.
The role of Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman to tackle big men in that era can’t be emphasized enough. Meanwhile, Steve Kerr and John Paxson both made clutch shots in the Finals to lift the Bulls out of trouble.
MJ recognizes the role of his teammates in his winning quests pretty well, especially Pippen.
Michael Jordan has dubbed Pippen as his best teammate
MJ has acknowledged the role of Pippen in shaping his amazing NBA legacy
During his Hall-of-Fame speech in 2009, he showered the former Bulls forward with a lot of praise. At one point he stated, “And all the videos. You never just saw me, you saw Scottie Pippen. Every championship I won.”
Additionally, he called Pippen his best teammate of all-time in his The Last Dance docuseries.
He said, “Everybody say I won all these championships but I didn’t win without Scottie Pippen, that’s why I consider him my best teammate of all-time.”
However, Pippen was offended by the lack of focus on MJ’s teammates during The Last Dance docuseries. These lofty comments from MJ didn’t make much of an impression on him because he felt that Jordan portrayed himself as a hero and others as side characters in the series.
