As a player, Scottie Pippen was one of the all time NBA greats, a 7 time All Star, 10 time All NBA Defensive Team Selection, 6 time NBA Champion, and in 2010 was elected a member of the prestigious Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
But his career after basketball has been a bit mysterious and controversial as he has gone on record on a number of occasions, making some rather inflammatory comments directed at his former running mate while with the Bulls, Michael Jordan, stating that 2 time league MVP Lebron James “May be the greatest player ever.”
While to some diehard LBJ fans, and those of the younger generation, Pippen’s comments may not seem that far fetched, but the comparison isn’t even close when looking at their stats through their first 6 seasons, and when considering NBA titles. It’s been said that Lebron compares more favorably to Kobe through the early parts of their careers, but don’t forget, Kobe has won 5 NBA Championships…..and counting.
After several quiet years upon his retirement in 2005, Pippen has now served as the official Chicago Bulls Team Ambassador since 2010, and has finally been recognized by the team for his amazing amount of accomplishments when he was presented with his very own life-sized statue, forever immortalizing the Bulls great and putting the bust permanently on display in the United Center concourse.
While Scottie finally came to his senses by backtracking, and now claiming that Michael Jordan is the G.O.A.T, he never disappoints when giving great soundbites during interviews.
Case in point, Scottie recently did an on air spot on the Waddie and Silvy Show on ESPN radio and made several interesting comments like he thought Phil Jackson would make an impromptu return to coaching and that Lebron James would one day surpass Michael Jordan in career scoring.
Here’s a summary of Scottie’s comments:
“I said by the end of his career, his numbers will be better. And I still stand by that. I think LeBron’s numbers are crazy only because he’s going to get in more years than Michael Jordan. Michael probably really only played 11 years in this league, and when you look at a kid like LeBron, who started at 18, 19 years old, he’s probably going to pass Michael by his numbers in his first 10, 11 years in the league.”
Pippen was asked if he would be able to pick a running mate between Jordan and James.
“That’s a dumb— question,” Pippen said. “I’ve never done anything with LeBron. I wouldn’t take LeBron to the movies with me.”
We’ll see if Pip still stands by his comments by the time LBJ hangs em up……
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
