Considered one of the best small forwards of all time, Pippen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight times (all consecutive) and the All-NBA First Team three times. He was a seven-time NBA All Star and was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1994. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the 1996–97 season, and is one of four players to have his jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls (the others being Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, and Michael Jordan). During his seventeen-year career, he played twelve seasons with the Chicago Bulls, one with the Houston Rockets and four with the Portland Trail Blazers, making the postseason sixteen straight times. He is third on the list of most postseason games played, behind Robert Horry and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Pippen is also the only person to have twice won both an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year.[2] Pippen was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on August 13, 2010
Early life
Scottie Pippen was born in Hamburg, Arkansas, and attended college at the University of Central Arkansas. At the start of his college career, the then 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Pippen was a walk-on for the now-former NAIA school and depended on his stipend for being the team manager and his summer job as a welder to fund his education.[1] He eventually reached to 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m).[4] Pippen's 23.6 points per game average and near 60% field goal shooting earned the Central Arkansas senior Consensus NAIA all-American honors in 1987.
[edit] NBA career
[edit] Early career (1987–1990)
He was selected fifth overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics and traded eventually to the Chicago Bulls for Olden Polynice.Pippen became part of Chicago's young forward tandem with 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) power forward Horace Grant, although both came off the bench to back up Brad Sellers and Charles Oakley, respectively, during their rookie seasons. With fellow Bull Michael Jordan as a motivational and instructional mentor, Pippen refined his skills and slowly developed many new ones over the course of his career. Jordan and Pippen were known to frequently play one-on-one outside of team practices simply to hone each others’ skills on offense and defense. Pippen claimed the starting small forward position during the 1988 Playoffs, helping the Jordan-led Bulls to reach the conference semifinals for the first time in over a decade. Pippen emerged as one of the league's premier young forwards at the turn of the decade,[5] recording then-career highs in points (16.5 points per game), rebounds (6.7 rebounds per game), field goal shooting (48.9%) as well as the NBA's number three leader in steals (211).[5] These feats earned Pippen his debut NBA All-Star selection in 1990.[5] Pippen continued to improve, helping the Bulls to the Conference Finals the 1989 as well as in 1990. However they lost both Conference Finals to the Detroit Pistons, and in 1990 Pippen suffered from severe migraines during the deciding seventh game as the Bulls were defeated.[6]
[edit] The Bulls' first three-peat (1991–1993)
In 1991, Pippen emerged as the Bulls' primary defensive stopper and a versatile scoring threat in Phil Jackson's Triangle offense. He helped lead the Bulls to their first three NBA championships (1991, 1992 and 1993).Pippen earned 10 NBA All-Defensive Team nods, including 8 on the first team. In 1992, he was named to the original Dream Team which competed in the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. With the U.S. winning gold medal, both Pippen and Michael Jordan would become the first players to win both NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year.[2]
[edit] Pippen without Jordan (1993–1995)
Michael Jordan retired before the 1993–94 season, and in his absence Pippen emerged from Jordan's shadow. That year, he earned All-Star Game MVP honors and led the Bulls in scoring, assists, and the entire league in steals, averaging 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.9 steals, 1.9 three-pointers, and 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 49.1% from the field and a career-best 32% from the three-point line. For his efforts, he earned the first of three straight All-NBA First Team nods, and he finished third in the MVP voting. The Bulls finished the season with 55 wins, only two fewer than the year before.However, perhaps the most infamous episode of Pippen's career came in the postseason of his first year without Jordan. In the 1994 NBA Playoffs, the Eastern Conference Semifinals pitted the Bulls against the New York Knicks, whom the Bulls had dispatched en route to a championship in each of the previous three seasons. On May 13, 1994, down 0—2 in the series and tied 102—102 in Game 3, Bulls coach Phil Jackson needed a big play from his team to have any chance of going on to the conference finals. With 1.8 seconds left and the score tied, Jackson designed the last play for rookie Toni Kukoc, with Pippen instructed to inbound the basketball. Pippen, who had been the Bulls' leader all season long in Jordan's absence, was so angered by Jackson's decision to not let him take the potential game-winner that he refused to leave the bench and re-enter the game when the timeout was over.
Although Kukoc did hit the game-winner, a 23-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, there was little celebrating to be done by the Bulls, as television cameras caught an unsmiling Phil Jackson storming off the court.[7] "Scottie asked out of the play," Jackson would tell reporters moments later in the post-game interview room.[8]
Teammate Steve Kerr elaborated when recently asked to recall the event: "I don't know what got into Pippen. He is such a great teammate and maybe the pressure was getting to him and he just could not take it anymore, no one knows for sure but he is a team player."
In Game 6, Pippen made what is perhaps the signature play of his career. While the Knicks had possession of the ball, Pippen pressured Hubert Davis with his defense on the perimeter and led him into a help defender in the paint, Horace Grant, who promptly rejected Davis’s shot. The blocked shot was rebounded by the Bulls and triggered a fast break. Pippen ran all-out down the court as the Bulls passed the ball around, and he received a bounce pass from Pete Myers to set up a facial dunk. As Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing jumped up to defend the shot, Pippen jumped from the left block, fully extended the ball out in his right hand, absorbed body contact from Ewing, and slammed the ball through the hoop with Ewing’s hand in his face. Pippen landed several feet away from the basket along the right inbounds baseline, incidentally standing over a fallen Ewing. The dunk has become one of the most famous in the history of the game.
The Bulls went on to lose the 1994 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Knicks in seven games. A key play occurred in the series at the end of Game 5 when Pippen was called by referee Hue Hollins for a questionable touch foul on the Knicks' Hubert Davis in the waning seconds of the game, which allowed the Knicks to shoot the game-winning free throws.[9] This helped lead the Knicks to a seven game series victory. All seven games in the series were won by the home team, and the Knicks had home court advantage.
Trade rumors involving Pippen escalated during the 1994 offseason. Jerry Krause, the Bulls' General Manager, was reportedly looking to ship Pippen off to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for all-star forward Shawn Kemp, moving Toni Kukoc into Pippen's position as starting small forward with Kemp filling in the vacant starting power forward position in place of Horace Grant, a free agent who left the Bulls for the up-and-coming Orlando Magic during the off-season. However, the trade was never made and those rumors were put to rest once it was announced that Michael Jordan would be returning to the Bulls late in the 1994–95 season. The Pippen-led Bulls did not fare nearly as well in the 1994–95 season as they had in the season before—in fact, for the first time in years they were in danger of missing the playoffs (though much of this may be attributed to a lack of interior defense and rebounding due to Grant's departure). The Bulls were just 34—31 prior to Jordan's return for the final 17 games, and Jordan led them to a 13—4 record to close the regular season. Still, Pippen finished the 1994–95 season leading the Bulls in every major statistical category — points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks — becoming only the second player in NBA history to accomplish this (Dave Cowens did it in 1977–78).[1][10]
[edit] The Bulls' second three-peat (1995–1998)
With the return of Jordan and the addition of two-time champion Dennis Rodman, the Bulls managed to post the best regular season record in NBA history (72—10) in 1995–96 en route to winning their fourth title against the Seattle SuperSonics. Later that year, Pippen would become the first (and to this date, the only) person to win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year twice, playing for Team USA at the Atlanta Olympics.[2]In the following season, Chicago finished a league-best 69—13 and again won the title, this time defeating the Utah Jazz. Amid speculation that the 1997–98 season would be the last in Chicago for Pippen, Jordan, and Jackson, the Bulls followed up by topping the Jazz again in the 1998 NBA Finals to cap their second three-peat. Pippen was selected as one of the NBA's Fifty Greatest Players when the league was celebrating its 50th season in 1997.
[edit] Later career (1998–2004)
After being in Chicago for 11 seasons, Pippen, the second all-time leader in points, assists, and steals in Bulls franchise history was traded to the Houston Rockets for the lockout-shortened season of 1998–99. Pippen's trade to Houston received a lot of publicity including his only solo cover of Sports Illustrated.[11] He teamed with Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, but there were chemistry problems especially with Barkley.[12] In that season, the Rockets went 31–19, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, 3 games to 1.On April 22, 1999, Pippen was detained under suspicion of driving while intoxicated,[13] but the charges were later dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Pippen was a near-constant presence in the NBA postseason during his career, reaching the playoffs 16 straight years (11 with Chicago, one with Houston, four with Portland). He played in more playoff games than any NBA player except Robert Horry and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
[edit] Retirement
The Chicago Bulls retired Pippen's jersey number in a ceremony on December 9, 2005. The team played against the Los Angeles Lakers that night, and Pippen was reunited with Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, and Horace Grant during the ceremony. Pippen's jersey number, 33, joined Michael Jordan's 23, Jerry Sloan's 4, and Bob Love's 10 as the only numbers retired by the Bulls.
In January 2008, Pippen made a comeback to basketball at age 42, when he made a tour of Scandinavia and played two games for top Finnish league team Torpan Pojat (ToPo), and top Swedish league team Sundsvall.[14] In his first game, on January 4, Pippen scored 12 points in ToPo's 93-81 win over Porvoo. He registered nine points and nine rebounds in a 98-85 win over Honka on January 5.[15] In his third game of the tour, Pippen registered 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals in 30 minutes in a 102-74 Sundsvall Dragons win over Akropol of Rinkeby. The Dragons paid Pippen $66,000 for his appearance.[14]
According to Investopedia, since retirement Pippen has lost $120 million in career earnings because of poor financial planning and bad business deals. Investment busts account for $27 million of the lost fortune.[16]
Pippen returned to the Bulls on July 15, 2010 as an ambassador to the team.[17]
[edit] Player profile
 | This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010) |
Pippen was renowned for his defensive abilities, having made the NBA All Defensive Team 10 consecutive years during his career and leading the league in steals in 1994–95. Phil Jackson once described him as a "one man wrecking crew, capable of guarding anyone from the point guard to the five position." Pippen is one of three NBA players to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season, and he also has the record for career steals by a forward (2,307), as well as in the playoffs (395).
[edit] Legacy
Pippen is remembered as one of the most versatile and agile players, and perhaps most notably as one of the greatest defenders, to ever play the game of basketball. Much like fellow Bull Michael Jordan, Pippen could provide tenacious on-the-ball perimeter defense, or tough interior defense, and he was particularly effective as a help defender. He was gifted with extraordinary athleticism, even compared with other professional athletes, and skills in areas that bode well for basketball.Pippen's unusually long arms and jumping agility gave him the ability to clog the passing lanes on defense, to block shots from behind on players that had managed to pass by him, to grab out-of-reach rebounds, to make unusual plays in mid-air, and to make passes around defenders that most players are physically unable to make. He often led the Bulls in assists and blocks as a result. Pippen was also a selfless player. His team-focused approach to the game was a key component in the Chicago Bulls’ championships. Pippen’s career assists total of 6,135 (5.2 per game) is a testament to that approach. It is the record among forwards and was 23rd all-time among all players when he retired (now 26th).
His intensive work ethic and athletic physique gave him the ability to consistently make highlight-reel plays, such as applying defensive intensity, forcing a turnover, stealing the ball and starting a one-man fast break that he would finish with a thunderous slam dunk at the other end of the court. As Pippen himself has attested, he and Jordan would compete to see who could force more turnovers and produce more offense from defense in each game (fast break points). During the 1990 Slam Dunk Contest, Scottie exhibited his leaping ability with a dunk from the free throw line. He was an athletic finisher at the rim, both with dunks and with a skillful finger roll shot that he added to his skill set over time. He was also a prolific perimeter shooter, taking about three thousand and making almost one thousand three-point shots in his career.
Pippen’s style of play is perhaps best illustrated by a play he made against the New York Knicks during Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals. While the Knicks had possession of the ball, Pippen pressured Hubert Davis with his defense on the perimeter and led him into a help defender in the paint, Horace Grant, who promptly rejected Davis’s shot. The blocked shot was rebounded by the Bulls and triggered a fast break. Pippen ran all-out down the court as the Bulls passed the ball around, and he received a bounce pass from Pete Myers to set up one of the most famous dunks in history. As Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing jumped up to defend the shot, Pippen jumped from the left block, fully extended the ball out in his right hand, absorbed body contact from Ewing, and slammed the ball through the hoop with Ewing’s hand in his face. Pippen landed several feet away from the basket along the right inbounds baseline, incidentally standing over a fallen Ewing.
[edit] Career statistics
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[edit] Averages
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | Chicago | 79 | 0 | 20.9 | .463 | .174 | .576 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 7.9 |
| 1988–89 | Chicago | 73 | 56 | 33.1 | .476 | .273 | .668 | 6.1 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 14.4 |
| 1989–90 | Chicago | 82 | 82 | 38.4 | .489 | .250 | .675 | 6.7 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 16.5 |
| 1990–91† | Chicago | 82 | 82 | 36.8 | .520 | .309 | .706 | 7.3 | 6.2 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 17.8 |
| 1991–92† | Chicago | 82 | 82 | 38.6 | .506 | .200 | .760 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 21.0 |
| 1992–93† | Chicago | 81 | 81 | 38.6 | .473 | .237 | .663 | 7.7 | 6.3 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 18.6 |
| 1993–94 | Chicago | 72 | 72 | 38.3 | .491 | .320 | .660 | 8.7 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 22.0 |
| 1994–95 | Chicago | 79 | 79 | 38.2 | .480 | .345 | .716 | 8.1 | 5.2 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 21.4 |
| 1995–96† | Chicago | 77 | 77 | 36.7 | .463 | .374 | .679 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 19.4 |
| 1996–97† | Chicago | 82 | 82 | 37.7 | .474 | .368 | .701 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 20.2 |
| 1997–98† | Chicago | 44 | 44 | 37.5 | .447 | .318 | .777 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 19.1 |
| 1998–99 | Houston | 50 | 50 | 40.2 | .432 | .340 | .721 | 6.5 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 14.5 |
| 1999–2000 | Portland | 82 | 82 | 33.5 | .451 | .327 | .717 | 6.3 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 12.5 |
| 2000–01 | Portland | 64 | 60 | 33.3 | .451 | .344 | .739 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 11.3 |
| 2001–02 | Portland | 62 | 60 | 32.2 | .411 | .305 | .774 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 10.6 |
| 2002–03 | Portland | 64 | 58 | 29.9 | .444 | .286 | .818 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 10.8 |
| 2003–04 | Chicago | 23 | 6 | 17.9 | .379 | .271 | .630 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 5.9 |
| Career | 1,178 | 1,053 | 34.9 | .473 | .326 | .704 | 6.4 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 16.1 | |
| All-Star | 7 | 6 | 24.7 | .442 | .318 | .625 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 12.1 | |
[edit] Career highs
| Stat | High | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 47 | vs. Denver Nuggets | February 18, 1997 |
| Field goal percentage | 16—17 (.941) | vs. Charlotte Hornets | February 23, 1991 |
| Field goals made | 19 | vs. Denver Nuggets | February 18, 1997 |
| Field goal attempts (Playoffs) | 35 (3 OT) | vs. Phoenix Suns | June 13, 1993 |
| Free throws made, none missed | 10—10 | vs. Detroit Pistons | March 31, 1998 |
| Free throws made | 13 | at Los Angeles Clippers | April 23, 1999 |
| Free throw attempts | 21 | at Charlotte Hornets | November 5, 1993 |
| Three-point field goals made (Playoffs) | 7 | at Utah Jazz | June 6, 1997 |
| Three-point field goal attempts | 13 | at Toronto Raptors | December 8, 1996 |
| Rebounds | 18 | at New York Knicks | March 31, 1992 |
| Rebounds (Playoffs) | 18 | at Miami Heat | May 1, 1996 |
| Offensive rebounds (Playoffs) | 9 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | May 15, 1999 |
| Defensive rebounds | 16 (OT) | vs. New York Knicks | December 25, 1994 |
| Assists | 15 | vs. Indiana Pacers | November 30, 1990 |
| Assists | 15 | vs. Washington Wizards | March 16, 2002 |
| Steals | 9 | vs. Atlanta Hawks | March 8, 1994 |
| Blocked shots | 5 | six | times |
| Turnovers | 12 (OT) | at New Jersey Nets | February 25, 1990 |
| Turnovers | 12 | at Houston Rockets | January 30, 1996 |
| Minutes played (Playoffs) | 56 (3 OT) | vs. Phoenix Suns | June 13, 1993 |
[edit] Achievements
21 career triple-doubles (17 regular season, 4 playoffs)Led the league in steals (232) and steals per game (2.94) in 1994–95
His 10 NBA All-Defensive honors and 8 NBA All-Defensive First Team honors are each one shy of the NBA record.
Member of the Olympic gold medal winning USA Men's National Basketball Teams in 1992 ("Dream Team 1", Barcelona, Spain) and 1996 ("Dream Team 2", Atlanta, USA)
Selected in 1996 as one of the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History"
Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. The 1992 Olympic Basketball "Dream Team", of which he was a member, was also elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Pippen is also the only NBA player known to have recorded both 5 steals and 5 blocks in a playoff game, which he did against the Detroit Pistons on May 19, 1991.
[edit] NBA records
[edit] Regular season
Assists by a forward, career: 6,135Steals by a forward, career: 2,307
Steals by a forward, season: 232 (1994–95)
Highest average, steals per game, by a forward, season: 2.94 (232/79) (1994–95)
[edit] Set with Michael Jordan
Ninth pair of teammates in NBA history to score 40 or more points in the same game: Chicago Bulls (110) at Indiana Pacers (102), February 18, 1996- Pippen: 40 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals in 44 minutes
- Jordan: 44 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks in 42 minutes
- Pippen: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists (and two steals) in 42 minutes
- Jordan: 41 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists (and six steals) in 47 minutes
- Jason Kidd and Vince Carter achieved this feat as well on April 7, 2007
[edit] Playoffs
Steals, career: 395Steals, quarter: 4, third quarter, vs. Milwaukee Bucks, April 29, 1990
- Tied with many other players
[edit] NBA Finals
Three-point field goals made, game: 7, at Utah Jazz, June 6, 1997- Broken by Ray Allen on June 6, 2010
- Broken by Reggie Miller in 2000
[edit] All-Star
Three-point field goal attempts, game: 9 (1994)Three-point field goal attempts, half: 7 (1994)
- Tied by Ray Allen (2005) and Tracy McGrady (2006)
[edit] Ranks 2nd in NBA history
[edit] Regular season
Highest average, steals per game, by a forward, career: 1.96 (2,307/1,178)[edit] Playoffs
Minutes played, career: 8,105- Trailing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
[edit] Finals
Three-point field goal attempts, game: 11, vs. Utah Jazz, June 6, 1997Turnovers, 6-game series: 26, vs. Phoenix Suns, 1993 NBA Finals
[edit] All-Star
Three-point field goals made, game: 5 (1994)- Trailing Mark Price
[edit] Ranks 3rd in NBA history
[edit] Regular season
Highest field goal percentage, game (minimum 15 made): .941 (16—17), vs. Charlotte Hornets, February 23, 1991- Only Wilt Chamberlain had more efficient games.
Steals, game: 9, vs. Atlanta Hawks, March 8, 1994
Turnovers, game: 12, twice
12, at New Jersey Nets, February 25, 1990 (OT)
12, at Houston Rockets, January 30, 1996
[edit] Playoffs
Postseasons played: 16Games played: 208
- Trailing Robert Horry and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4, at Cleveland Cavaliers, April 28, 1989
4, vs. New York Knicks, May 19, 1989
Turnovers, career: 602
[edit] Finals
Three-point field goal attempts, game: 10, vs. Utah Jazz, June 10, 1998Steals, 5-game series: 12, vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 1991 NBA Finals
- Trailing Michael Jordan and Charlie Ward
- Tied with many other players
[edit] Ranks 4th in NBA history
[edit] Regular season
Steals, game: 8, thrice8, vs. Orlando Magic, December 14, 1989
8, at Indiana Pacers, April 8, 1994
8, vs. Milwaukee Bucks, March 17, 1995
[edit] Playoffs
Personal fouls, career: 686[edit] Other records
One of three players in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season: 211 steals, 101 blocks (1989–90)- Michael Jordan (1986–87, 1987–88) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1988–89) are the only other players to do so.
- Dave Cowens (Boston Celtics, 1977–78), Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves, 2002–03) and LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers, 2008–09) are the only other players to do so.
Ranks 5th in career three-pointers made (200) and attempted (660) in the playoffs, and 6th in career steals in the regular season.
[edit] Chicago Bulls franchise records
Note: Pippen is second in most career totals for the Bulls, both in the regular season and playoffs, trailing only Michael Jordan.[edit] Regular season
Highest field goal percentage, game: .941 (16—17), vs. Charlotte Hornets, February 23, 1991Three-point field goals made, career: 664
- Broken by Kirk Hinrich
Three-point field goal attempts, game: 12, at Charlotte Hornets, February 20, 1995
- Broken by Kirk Hinrich on November 5, 2004
Turnovers, game: 12, twice
12, at New Jersey Nets, February 25, 1990 (OT)
12, at Houston Rockets, January 30, 1996
[edit] Playoffs
Three-point field goals made, career: 161Three-point field goals made, game: 7, at Utah Jazz, June 6, 1997
Three-point field goals made, quarter: 4, second quarter, at Utah Jazz, June 6, 1997
Three-point field goals made, overtime: 1, at New York Knicks, May 11, 1996
Three-point field goal attempts, career: 531
Three-point field goal attempts, overtime: 3, at New York Knicks, May 11, 1996
Rebounds, career: 1,366
Rebounds, overtime: 3, vs. New Jersey Nets, April 24, 1998
Offensive rebounds, overtime: 2, vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, May 5, 1989
- Tied by Derrick Rose
- Tied with other players
- Tied by Derrick Rose
- Tied with Horace Grant
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