Scottie Pippen’s career can be defined by two things: frustration and greatness.
To be fair, some of the Pippen frustration is valid — he was seen as second best to Michael Jordan in the 1990s Bulls dynasty (and maybe rightly so) — but he was such an integral part of the Bulls that without Pippen, the Bulls wouldn’t have won as much, and maybe even at all.
He also felt underpaid and unappreciated by the Bulls, and he has a point. But he and his agent could have negotiated a long-term deal and probably done better. If he’d played for, say, Red Auerbach, the Boston Celtics might have recognized his greatness and given him a new contract. But he played for Jerry Reinsdorf, and Reinsdorf doesn’t like to renegotiate.
He also has some long-standing grievances, and we don’t know how he feels about Michael Jordan’s son hooking up with his ex-wife, but it probably didn’t go over well either.
Whatever complaints you have about him is up to you, but there’s no doubting his greatness. Jordan is widely considered the greatest player of all time, but not many players had Pippen’s versatility, incredible athleticism, and dedication to defense. He was a great basketball player and had some impressive accomplishments during his career.
One of them is this powerful dunk over Patrick Ewing in 1994. Keep in mind that Ewing was a very strong, athletic center at 7 feet tall, so he was a player to be reckoned with.
On the play, Pippen came down the left wing on a fast break, stole the ball from Pete Myers, and dunked on Ewing. After Ewing fell to the floor, Pippen stood over him, taunting him, which Ewing clearly wasn’t happy about.
It was the kind of greatness Pippen displayed so often that it makes you wonder how much more he could have accomplished personally if he had been more content with his role and his relationship with the Bulls.
Cameo Appearance : The Davis mentioned in the opening is Hubert Davis, the current coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels.