POSTED: Thursday August 26th 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The House that Jordan Built Has no Room for Pippen
The Chicago Bulls' recent decision to put up a statue of Scottie Pippen next to Michael Jordan's outside the United Center is admirable to a point, but misguided the rest of the way.
Mounting a bull is not exactly what one would call a smart move. Mounting a statue of former Bull Scottie Pippen, outside the sea of red that is Chicago’s United Center, no less? Even more nonsensical.
One popular misconception is that the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls teams of the 1990s were a one-trick pony. Truth be told, they were very much stacked, a fact greatly reflected by the Bulls’ decision on Wednesday to erect the statue of Jordan’s wingman next to the one of His Airness himself. However, just because Pippen was great - his recent induction into basketball’s Hall of Fame should serve as proof - it doesn’t mean he should ever be considered anywhere near the same level as Jordan.
Putting up a statue of Pippen is a great idea on paper, one that recognizes Pippen’s contributions to the team over their two three-peat performances. However, doing so also takes away from Jordan’s what-should-always-be-beyond-reproach legendary status. So that great idea falls about as flat as a basketball into Lake Michigan, a body of water better served as a dumping ground for the Chicago Mob and not ill-advised fairy-taleesque notions of nobility.
This isn’t meant as a slight to Pippen. One look at his career statistics would reveal quite impressive numbers, including a 16.1 point-per-game average. Another look across today’s National Basketball Association’s supposed superstars would show just how hard-to-reach that number over the span of an entire career is to reach. Two-time MVP Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns for just one example has a career average of just 14.6. Granted, Nash has made his career on his ability to dish the ball to teammates, and his 8.3 assists per game compared to Pippen’s 5.2, is a better indication of just how invaluable he is to the Suns, but the point remains nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Jordan was able to score an average of 30.1 points per game (along with 5.3 assists per game for the sake of completeness), which constitutes an NBA record. One can most certainly argue that Jordan was not the best player of all time, but no argument should ever be made that Pippen was… unless you want to earn a one-way ticket away from the hardwood to padded walls.
Obviously, Jordan had his limitations. For one, his swing couldn’t cut it and resembled something having more to do with the S&M harness than baseball. However, just look at how the Bulls did without him in 1993-1994, upon his first retirement from the game. Their 55-27 record is further proof that they had the makings of a great team behind Jordan, but they also only made it past the first round of the playoffs that year. Had Jordan not decided to pursue his misguided boyhood dream, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Bulls would have won eight-straight championships and not just two sets of three separated by one best-forgotten season and another in which Jordan played just 17 games.
Basketball is a team game, no doubt, but it is a team game blessed every so often with once-in-a-lifetime talent… and that of Jordan, unlike that of LeBron James, was backed up extensively with championship victories. Pippen no doubt contributed to those victories, but it is very much debatable that the Bulls couldn’t have won without him. The same can’t be said of Jordan. That fact should never be diminished or forgotten.
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Keywords · basketball · NBA · Michael Jordan · Scottie Pippen · Phoenix Suns · championships · Nash · Shaq
Name: John Waverly
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