In contrast to what Bird stated, another legend of the Celtics believes that Pippen might have achieved a great deal on his own.
Larry Bird was a native of southern Indiana and was a lifelong Pacers fan. But Larry Legend gave credit to Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan when it became evident that the Chicago Bulls were superior to Indiana in the 1990s.
But when it came right down to it, Bird openly stated that Michael Jordan was the reason Pippen became such a terrific player.
“I think Scottie Pippen, the second-best player in the NBA, was standing right next to Michael Jordan. If you remove Michael from that squad, Scottie drops to fifth. The Celtics icon said in his book “Bird Watching” that “they were the best two in the league when Michael was out there with him.”
Pippen was merely decent without MJ and excellent with her.
While it’s true that Jordan and Pippen together were unbeatable, Bird claims that when one player is removed from the equation, the situation changes drastically.
According to Bird’s evaluation, Pippen was at his best while playing with Jordan, but not the other way around because Pip wouldn’t have been as effective without MJ.
As it happened, many may argue that Bird’s judgment was accurate because Pippen underperformed without Jordan, as is common knowledge. Another Boston Celtics icon, though, begged to differ, and he had a compelling argument to support it.
Pierce gives Pippen high marks.
When he won six NBA titles with Jordan and the Bulls, Pippen was also at the peak of his career for Paul Pierce. Furthermore, “The Truth” emphasized that one partner must make a sacrifice in order for a gifted pair to succeed, and Pippen fulfilled this need the whole time he was MJ’s co-pilot in Chicago.
Pierce emphasized, “When you talk about a dynamic duo, you both could probably be ‘the’ guy… the second guy has to sacrifice.” To avoid being “the” person, one of the guys had to consume that medicine. Gradually, you start to think, “He’s got it.” Consider the time when [Scottie] Pippen was a strong candidate for MVP after [Michael] Jordan left. He met the requirements to be the no 1 guy.
Whichever side you take in this narrative, it’s undeniable that Jordan and Pippen—either separately or together—were legendary.
