Scottie Pippen is inarguably the best second option in NBA history. The forward played the role of Michael Jordan’s running mate to perfection and helped the Chicago Bulls win six championships in eight years. However, while his place in NBA history is already a prestigious one, Shawn Kemp believes labeling the Hall of Famer as nothing more than an excellent sidekick would be reductive.
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On the All The Smoke, the Seattle SuperSonics icon gave Pippen his flowers and claimed he’d have been successful even if he hadn’t played alongside Jordan. Kemp, who played alongside the Bulls icon during his twilight years in Portland, added,
“Scottie Pippen was going to be a good ball player without Michael Jordan. He would’ve been a quality ball player without Michael Jordan. Jordan definitely made him a little better, but my man Scottie was balling when we were in Portland… He could still play the passing lanes. He’s never been a great shooter, but he’s just been athletic to do a lot of different things.”
Pippen proved Kemp’s point with his stellar run to the Western Conference Finals with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000. At 35, the forward was the team’s third-highest scorer, shooting 71.7% from the field, while being second highest in rebounds and assists.
He took his game up a notch in the playoffs, averaging 2.5 points more than he did during the regular season [per Statmuse], and almost led the Trail Blazers to a shocking series win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal orchestrated an incredible 14-point fourth-quarter comeback in Game 7 to deny Pippen and Portland a trip to the NBA Finals.
While he couldn’t lead them to the championship, he went further in the playoffs without Jordan than the five-time MVP ever did without Pippen. In fact, this wasn’t the first instance of the forward carrying a team deep into the playoffs without Jordan.
Scottie Pippen’s MVP-caliber season during Michael Jordan’s first retirement
When Micheal Jordan shockingly retired in 1993, the Bulls replaced him with Pete Myers, who had spent the previous two years playing in Italy. Their decision not to trade for a star was partly based on the belief that in the then-three-time Finals MVP’s absence, Scottie Pippen would elevate his game and carry the team. The forward did not disappoint.
Pippen had his best season, averaging a career-high in points (22) and rebounds (8.7) and steals (2.9). The Bulls finished the regular season with a 55-27 record, just two wins shy of the Atlanta Hawks, and New York Knicks, who were first and second, respectively, in the Eastern Conference table. It likely would’ve been better, and even surpassed the Bulls’ previous year’s win total of 57, had Pippen not missed 10 games.
The forward’s stellar performances earned him a third-place finish in the MVP voting, proving that playing alongside Jordan was holding him back. The Bulls lost in the second round of the playoffs against the Knicks, ending their three-year grip on the NBA title.
However, it’s worth pondering whether Pippen could’ve led them to a title had the Bulls replaced Jordan with a star rather than a player who was plying his trade in Italy in the previous two campaigns. A championship and a Finals MVP in 1994 would’ve severely altered the general perception of Pippen, which is now reduced to being Jordan’s sidekick.
