NBA All-Time Rank No. 23: Scottie Pippen

Ranking the top 50 players in NBA history…

23. Scottie Pippen

Pippen might be the greatest sidekick in sports history, and he also proved he could lead a team as an alpha when Michael Jordan retired for the first time.

Drafted No. 5 overall in 1987 by the Seattle SuperSonics and traded to the Chicago Bulls, Pippen became an indispensable figure in the team’s unbelievable, six-title dynasty during the 1990s.

Over his career, Pippen averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.0 steals, but stats will never be able to describe how nasty of a defender Pippen truly was. Capable of guarding all five positions, Pippen’s defense would still stand out today as being particularly elite.

There’s a reason he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight consecutive times, earned All-NBA First Team honors three times, and was a seven-time NBA All-Star.

Despite playing in Jordan’s shadow, Pippen was so good that the basketball world never misunderstood how special his talent was.

Scottie was selected to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. His jersey number 33 was retired by the Bulls in 2005, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, also honored for his role on the 1992 “Dream Team.”

Pippen also won Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996, achieving the rare feat of winning an NBA title and Olympic gold in the same year twice.

But who ranks ahead of Pippen at No. 22 all-time?