He did. He guarded Shaq and Malone when it was needed. He is a far superior defender than DJ because of his versatility.

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That explains why Paxson is such a shitty GM.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Yes. A lot of NBA players from the 80's and 90's said they would choose him over Jordan.

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He never guarded Shaq unless it was on a switch. Never was assigned to guard he or Malone. That's false.

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You do need that alpha male that's a star but very few players in the nba are like that now. Kobe is the last of the greats.

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He did. Rodman and Luc were in foul trouble. It wasn't for long stretches but the point is he had the ability to do it.

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I don't think anyone outside of Chicago believes that.

Pippen belongs in conversations with DJ, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, Gary Payton, and Sidney Moncrief.

It's just absurd to say he was a better player than James Worthy.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Scottie could score 20 points but have a far greater impact on the game than Jordan. They don't get past Indiana in 1998 without him. He willed them to victory.

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Scottie could score 20 points but have a far greater impact on the game than Jordan. You might need to quit while you're ahead on this one.

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The Indiana series is a great example. Taking Mark Jackson out of the series (even with a bad back) is why the Bulls won. Defensively he changed that series.

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Pippen needed Jordan a lot more than Jordan needed Pippen.

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If you merely extrapolate you'd find that Jordan was far more significant. For instance the Phoenix game Jordan scored the only fourth quarter points that is until Paxson hit the shot.

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I think they needed each other. Like LeBron I don't think Pippen is a natural alpha male. Jordan took care of that. His was born with that ability. Scottie did all the small things that made Jordan's life easier. And when Jordan would attack a teammate Scottie was there with the ice and a pat on the back. Since Jordan was the alpha and the greatest scorer ever I think Scottie's contributions get overlooked until you talk to former players.

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Jordan is the greatest ever. That doesn't mean that for a game or series Scottie couldn't be more valuable.

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Pippen is def. a top 50 player. I think that it would be erroneous to suggest that his contributions to the team rank up there with Jordans. He was the quintessential second banana.

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I think if you actually start making a list, you'll find he's marginal at best. If anything, he squeaks in.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I think it's closer than people give him credit for. Bulls fans talk about Scottie like he was just another guy.

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Depends on how much you value his all around game. I think he's a top 5 SF.

Bird
LeBron
Dominique
Baylor
Scottie

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There's a more interesting conversation to be had that goes beyond just Scottie and basketball. There have always been guys who are more appreciated by those who had to play against them. Nolan Ryan would fall into that category. A lot of teams beat Ryan, but nobody wanted to face him.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Pistons, Cavs and the Pacers at different times during the championship run

The Cavaliers were stacked

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

They thought he was a better teammate because he wouldn't humiliate them for their weaknesses but let's not rewrite history that Scottie was some beloved, team oriented guy. He had a game that was more dependent on team but he wasn't a guy building up team off the court.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Jordan was definitely a more charismatic guy but Scottie was the better teammate on the court. Most people like to ride the jocks of the best anyway so Scottie didn't have a chance off the court. His money wasn't long enough either until he went to Portland.

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I had a Pippen poster on my wall in college and used to get into heated arguments with a guy from Boston about him being better than Reggie Lewis (win for dolphin on that one).

You miss the obvious example of Pippen's greatness, which is the year Jordan retired. but for a ref fixing the game, he would have taken that team to a championship and he deserved to be MVP that year.

Still, Jordan could do everything Scottie could do and more. Pippen provided relief for Jordan to carry the load offensively but Jordan could have done everything else if necessary.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

If that 94' series goes differently Scottie gets more love from fans. No one expected them to be that good.

Of course Jordan could have done everything but without Scottie he probably would have only won 1 title. Very few teammates have complimented one another better. Not having to carry the entire load the way he was forced to earlier in his career made the game easier for Jordan and he would have enough in the tank to slit your throat at the end.

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That is for the "winning championships is always the testament to a player's greatness crowd". Winning championships elevated Pippen's greatness tremendously. I'm glad Van Gundy pointe this out during the finals. Winning is often a product of who you play with. In Pippens case that was def. the case.

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He had a lot to do with those championships too. No one talks about the greatness of Ron Harper because he was truly just a guy.

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That top 50 list was skewed badly by when it was made. If you did one now it would be different and much harder. If you took the last champs from 1980-2015 for instance. You could take only THE best player on each of the winning teams and you are where? 28 already? Hard due to repeaters. Now add in 10 from pre-1980 and there are few slots to argue about a lot of great players left over.

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No. You probably wouldn't have 12 players.

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Off the top of my head

Bird
Magic
Jordan
Isaiah
Hakeem
Duncan
Shaq
Kobe
Billups
Garnett
Dirk
Wade

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Too many repeaters I guess.

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Elections have consequences.