“Over James Harden? Absolutely”: Kenyon Martin Vehemently Picks Scottie Pippen Over The 2018 MVP

A heated debate occurred in the latest episode of Gil’s Arena when host Gilbert Arenas and former NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin, butted heads over Scottie Pippen’s all-time status. In fact, Martin boldly picked Pippen ahead of the likes of LeBron James and James Harden for his versatility.

‘Agent Zero’ Gil spurred the conversation by stating that the six-time NBA champion Pippen wasn’t the kind of player one would build their franchise around.

“My number one pick to start my franchise — the Michael Jordan, the LeBron, the Kobe, the Shaq, the Kareem, the Magic, the Duncan, the Wilt — and you’re gonna say you’re gonna pick a glue guy,” Arenas argued on his podcast.

“All those guys that you just named, did I say that we would pick him over them?” Martin clapped back.

Arenas argued that the franchise player needs to be a proven first option; someone who can carry the load and still find team success. He believed that if every NBA legend was up for a re-draft, Scottie would fall into the second or third round.

His argument predicated on history and the fact that #33 never won any individual or team accolades without Jordan during his 17-season NBA career.

But his counterparts explained how skillset and physical characteristics matter more than achievements in evaluating a player in this context.

“If you line him up, height, arm length, skill set — dribbling, shooting, defense, passing — Scottie’s getting picked, bro,” Martin added.

“You’re saying by attributes, you’re not talking about accolades,” Rashad McCants chimed in.

For Arenas, the Pippen selection still didn’t make sense. Martin attempted to explain how Pippen’s skillset was diverse and he was a better defender than many of today’s stars.

“Gil, he does everything. He’s a better defender than LeBron James. He does everything,” the former Clippers power forward stated.

Arenas responded by asking the one-time All-Star if he would pick Pippen over the King for that reason.

“Did I say that? I just said the motherf***** will go 30 but he still [going to get picked]. But you missed that point,” the Denver Nuggets legend explained.

At this point, Agent Zero understood that the argument was about whether Scottie was a top 30 player of all-time. After all, there are 30 teams in the NBA and for his argument to be proven right, there would have to be 30 players who would serve as better franchise cornerstones than Pippen.

“Are you picking him [Pippen] over Kawhi Leonard?” he asked. “Yes,” Martin quickly confirmed. He also said he would pick the #33 over Dwyane Wade but would have to consider whether Scottie makes the cut over Kevin Durant.

“Are you picking him over [James] Harden?” Arenas further prodded.

“Yes. I’m picking him over James Harden. He does more… Over James Harden? Absolutely… Scottie’s attributes and what he’s going to do to affect what we’re trying to do here, win? Oh f*** yes, it ain’t even a question,” Martin concluded.

Interestingly, a few years ago, Pippen talked about how he would have tackled Harden as an opponent in an analysis with ESPN. So is Pippen the most underrated star of all-time in the NBA? Perhaps.

When it comes to Arenas, it is likely that he is upset about Pippen firing shots at LeBron during a recent interview. After all, it isn’t a ridiculous notion that Scottie can contribute to winning as the #1 option.

In the season after Jordan’s first retirement, Pippen led the Chicago Bulls to a 55-win season. And the year before, with MJ, they won 57 games.

However, ESPN also ranked Pippen 32nd when he was selected in the NBA’s 75th anniversary team in 2021. Stars like Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul were listed ahead of the #33, supporting Gil’s argument that 30 NBA teams could find a stronger superstar to build their franchise around.