NBA

Larry Bird Once Said That Scottie Pippen Was the ‘Second Best’ Player in the NBA, Thanks to Michael Jordan

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NBA legends Michael Jordan (L), Larry Bird (C), and Scottie Pippen (R).

Even before you consider his more recent comments about Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen was always somewhat of a divisive figure. During his time on the hardwood, basketball fans debated whether the forward was a star in his own right or simply Michael Jordan’s sidekick.

Larry Bird, however, didn’t have any doubts about what he witnessed.

In fact, Bird paid Pippen a high compliment in 1999, writing that he was a top-five player on his own, but climbed to number two in the rankings when suiting up alongside MJ. While that might sound like something of a cop-out, it does provide some perspective on how we view Pip today.

Larry Legend had high praise for Scottie Pippen in his book

NBA legends Michael Jordan (L), Larry Bird (C), and Scottie Pippen (R).
NBA legends Michael Jordan (L), Larry Bird (C), and Scottie Pippen (R). | Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images, Tom Berg/WireImage, Jonathan Daniel / Stringer

During his time on the NBA hardwood, Larry Bird faced off against plenty of talented opponents. When all was said and done, though, two men from Chicago left quite the impression on the Celtics star.

In his 1999 book, Bird Watching, Larry Legend recounted how frustrating it was to see his Pacers team be intimidated by Michael Jordan. While he tried to change that reality without success, the NBA legend did understand where the fear factor stemmed from. Not only was MJ an elite player with a knack for crushing opponents’ confidence, but he had a pretty good running mate.

“Michael Jordan played the mind game better than almost anyone. He really knew how to get inside people’s heads,” Bird wrote. “Plus, I believe he had the second best player in the league right next to him in Scottie Pippen. You take Michael off that team, and Scottie moves down to fifth. But when Michael was out there with him, they were the best two in the league.”

Since Bird stated that his frustrating encounter with the Bulls came during his first season on the bench, we know exactly how Pippen performed that season. The forward only appeared in 44 games, but he still averaged 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per outing. Chicago, of course, would go on to win the NBA title that summer before breaking up the metaphorical band.

Scottie Pippen’s talent and his connection to Jordan shouldn’t be mutually exclusive

While it may seem like Bird took the easy way out by saying that Pippen was good but better with Jordan, the living legend does make a valid point. Playing alongside a special player doesn’t devalue someone’s talent.

In Pippen’s case, we know what kind of player the forward was. Since he grew up playing guard, Pip was a comfortable ballhandler, a solid scorer, and a lockdown defender. That worked perfectly with the Bulls, where he was good enough to take some weight off Jordan while still forcing the opposition to respect his skillset.

The numbers reflect that reality. During his entire time on the hardwood — we’ll discuss the splits with and without MJ shortly — Pippen averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per outing. Are those top-five player numbers? You can decide that for yourself.

With those numbers established, you might be saying that Pippen’s success was due to Jordan’s presence in the lineup. While that might seem intuitive, the stats don’t really show much of a difference. According to Statmuse’s data, Pip averaged 17.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 691 games when playing alongside Jordan and 15.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists in 464 games without MJ. When you consider that many of the forward’s solo outings came at the end of his career when he was slowing down, the difference becomes even less significant.

To be clear, I’m not trying to assess Bird’s claim about Pippen’s greatness — he was probably overstating things a bit, but that’s neither here nor there. Instead, I’m more focused on the idea that Pippen’s legacy is devalued by the fact that he rode shotgun with one of the greatest players to ever hit the hardwood. You can be both a great player and play alongside someone who’s even better.

At the most basic level, we shouldn’t penalize a player for where they happen to land. In Pip’s case, he was traded to the Bulls and didn’t leave for more than a decade. Free agency, at least as we now know it, really didn’t exist yet, and while the forward could have forced his way out of the Windy City, that was a nuclear option. Is it really fair to count that as a strike against Pippen?

Beyond that, good players are good players, and when we try to account for circumstances, things get tricky. Let’s say that you wanted to argue Pippen’s success stemmed from playing with MJ, even if the stats don’t really indicate that’s the case. By that logic, you could argue that Jordan might not have won six championships without Phil Jackson. At a certain point, you have to let the combination of resumes and the eye test stand on their own.

So, to bring it full circle, let’s return to Larry Bird’s take. Scottie Pippen, with or without Michael Jordan, deserves a respected place in NBA history.

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

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Joe Kozlowski
Sports Editor

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.

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Author photo
Joe Kozlowski Sports Editor

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.

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