I am sick and tired of hearing and reading about people talking about Scottie Pippen as a better defensive player than Michael Jordan just to make their favorite players (e.g. His Brickness or His Flopness) looks better than Michael Jordan.
First of all, Scottie Pippen is Michael Jordan's Pippen. The Original Pippen. The player that defines the side-kick role in contemporary NBA. He was Jordan’s Robin in Gotham Chicago. He was also the original Jordan wannabe . . . trained with and molded by Michael Jordan to be a "Jordan clone." They were the first to start practicing in the gym and the last one to leave the gym. Some people today keep talking about star players needed a "Pippen" to win a championship ring. Shaquille O'Neal used to have Penny Hardaway (Orlando Magic), Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) and Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat) as his "Pippen.” Kobe himself got his own "Pippen" (Pau Gasol) years later to add two more rings with the three-peat he won with Shaq. One-two punch combos used to be the thing in the 90s, Jordan-Pippen, Malone-Stockton, Hakeem-Drexler, Kemp-Payton, and of course, Shaq-Kobe.
Although, ever since the Big Three of the Boston Celtics won their championship title in 2008, coupled with the continuing success of the San Antonio Spurs' Big Three (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker), other teams had followed their footsteps. Super teams such as the super teams of the Miami Heat (Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh), the Golden State Warriors (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love). Note that this is not a new phenomenon and that the NBA just reverted back to the 1980s, when big teams used to have their own super teams to win championships. Teams such as the Showtime Lakers (Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy), the Celtics (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish) and the Sixers (Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones) were the super teams of the 1980s. Heck, we can even go even back to the ancient NBA times: the Lakers (Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and Gail Goodrich), and the Celtics (Bill Russel, Bob Cousy, and John Havlevick). Anyway, the Chicago Bulls' second three-peat was won by their very own super team as well, and the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen-Dennis Rodman triumvirate was very dominant in the mid/late 90s.
Back to the topic, there is no way that Scottie Pippen was better on defense than Michael Jordan. The stats speak for themselves. The only time Pippen beat Jordan in the defensive category was simply because he played more games than Jordan while Jordan's career interrupted by his retirements. Of course, without Scottie Pippen playing alongside Michael Jordan those six banners at the top of the United Center will not be there. However, just as I pointed out before, he trained with and molded by Michael Jordan to be his clone. It's ignorant to say that Pippen was the very reason why Jordan got those rings. If any other Jordan wannabes was alongside His Airness instead of Pippen (e.g. Afernee Hardaway, Grant Hill or heck, even Riggie Miller), he would still win those six rings simply because he will train and mold that person to be his clone.
| PLAYERS | Michael Jordan | Scottie Pippen |
|---|---|---|
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | ||
| STEALS PER GAME | 2.35 steals per game | 1.95 steals per game |
| CAREER STEALS | 2,514 career steals (1,072 games) | 2,307 career steals (1,178 games) |
| BLOCKS PER GAME | 0.8 blocks per game | 0.8 blocks per game |
| CAREER BLOCKS | 893 career blocks (1,072 games) | 947 career blocks (1,178 games) |
| DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS PER GAME | 5.2 defensive rebounds per game | 4.6 defensive rebounds per game |
| CAREER DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 5,004 career defensive rebounds (1,072 games) | 5,426 career defensive rebounds (1,178 games) |
| 200 STEALS and 100 BLOCKS in a SEASON | 2 (1986-87 and 1987-88) | 1 (1989-90) |
| NBA PLAY-OFFS | ||
| STEALS PER GAME | 2.10 steals per game | 1.90 steals per game |
| CAREER STEALS | 376 career steals (179 games) | 395 career steals (208 games) |
| BLOCKS PER GAME | 0.9 blocks per game | 0.9 blocks per game |
| CAREER BLOCKS | 158 career blocks (179 games) | 185 career blocks (208 games) |
| DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS PER GAME | 4.7 defensive rebounds per game | 5.4 defensive rebounds per game |
| CAREER DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 847 career defensive rebounds (179 games) | 1,117 career defensive rebounds (208 games) |
| INDIVIDUAL HONORS | ||
| NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR | 1 (1987-88) | 0 |
| NBA SEASON LEADER IN STEALS | 3 (1987-88, 1989-90, 1992-93) | 1 (1994-95) |
| NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM | First Team: 1988-1993, 1996-1998 | First Team: 1992-1999 and Second Team: 1991, 2000 |
Michael Jordan: The Best Defender in the Game
Scottie Pippen: Ultimate Defender
Photo Credit: SLAM Magazine
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