Scottie Pippen is fondly remembered as the greatest sidekick in NBA history. Alongside Michael Jordan, he led the Bulls to six championships in eight years. His arrival in Chicago in 1987 is often pinpointed as the moment the team went from the league’s laughingstock to legitimate contenders. While fans may only remember him as the Robin to Jordan’s Batman, players like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett remember the Hall of Famer in a different light.
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Those who were lucky, or perhaps unlucky, enough to lineup against Pippen remember him as one of the most skilled two-way players they have ever faced. He was elite offensively when he wanted or needed to be. And his defense was stifling to the point of suffocation.
Pierce experienced this firsthand when he was part of the US Select Team in 1996. He had to face Pippen in practice, who was on the Team USA Olympic roster. The Bulls icon harassed him on the court so viciously, he felt he was being double-teamed. The Celtics icon recalled on The Truth Lounge,
“I played against the Dream Team [2] and Scottie locked me up on the sideline. I was like, ‘Whoa!’ I thought I was being trapped. I had turned by back to the sideline. I turned, it was only Scottie Pippen, right there. And then he just knocked the ball out of my hand.”
Pierce then paid homage to the seven-time All-Star and claimed he’d trust him to guard anyone in NBA history. He added,
“He the best defensive wing. Like if I needed a wing man anybody in history, all the top scorer, if I needed someone to match up against Durant, LeBron, Kobe, I want prime Pippen.”
Garnett, who battled Pippen 23 times in his career, agreed with his former teammate’s take about the six-time NBA champion. He shared the Pierce’s anecdote on his Instagram stories and co-signed it with a caption that read,
“Big facts! Prime Pippen was that DEAL! Stay playing [locked].”
KG shows Pippen love pic.twitter.com/oFSSDMjBA0
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) December 22, 2024
While Pierce was on the receiving end of a humbling from Pippen, Garnett got into a skirmish with the Bulls icon that ended with them threatening each other.
When Kevin Garnett and Scottie Pippen got into a heated tussle
During an appearance on the Players’ Tribune’s Knucklehead podcast, Garnett recalled a story of tagging along with a friend to the Deerfield Multiplex in 1995, where Michael Jordan and the Bulls practiced. The Timberwolves icon was tasked with guarding the legendary forward during a pickup game and the latter took offense to it. Garnett recalled,
“Jordan put me right on Scottie. And Scottie was like, ‘Man, why’d y’all put this young puppy a** n**** on me? Man, let me get it.’… He shot this long a** three, so much that I looked at that motherf***er, bam, and I’m like, ‘he hit that?’ And I looked at him, he almost had the face of some like ‘easy work, man,’ and when I saw his face, it was just a natural reaction.”
Pippen looking down on him brought out Garnett’s competitive spirit. He responded in a fashion that nearly ended the practice. The Hall of Famer added,
“I call for it. MJ threw that motherf***er, and I took two dribbles, gave him a little move, and I let my s*** go. Man, my s*** hit, dawg. I thought I had won the championship. Look, I was so gassed, and I jumped and said, ‘I don’t know what you think this is n****,’ and he was like, ‘What n****, what?’ And he shot me the ball, I shot him back, we pushed up, and I said, ‘I’ll have these n****s kill you in here.'”
While others stepped in to stop the skirmish, an amused Jordan hyped up Garnett and yelled, “Young fella, I love you.” In the years to come, the forward would earn Pippen’s respect with his tenacity on the court. However, their first interaction wasn’t the friendliest.
