Scottie Pippen says he was 'LeBron James before LeBron James' | Syracusefan.com

Scottie Pippen says he was 'LeBron James before LeBron James'

Eric15

Eric15

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The headline was more controversial than the actual article.
 
"Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to play the game," Pippen said. "But I may go as far as to say LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game because he is so potent offensively that not only can he score at will but he keeps everybody involved. You have to be on your Ps and Qs on defense. No guy on the basketball court is not a threat to score with LeBron James out there. Not only will LeBron dominate from the offensive end as well, but he's also doing it on the defensive end which really makes him the complete package. He's able to get in those passing lanes, shoot those gaps and create transition opportunities where he is pretty much unstoppable."

So is Pippen saying he's the best ever? j/k
 
Lebron James is Magic Johnson in Karl Malone's body. Pippen was a similar type player, but I would take Michael Jordan 10 out of 10 times over Lebron.
LBJ will go down as a top 3 player of all-time. There is no doubt of his greatness. Pippen's comparison is fine. As he was a Point-Forward who ran the offense and was a lockdown defender. Pippen could have scored more if needed but he had Jordan on his team. Pippen was the better defender but James the better overall player IMO.
 
Eric15 said:
Wow really? I think he's one of the most underrated pro athletes of my lifetime.
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I'm probably very biased because, as a Knicks fan. I hate him but I truly feel if we was the lead dog surrounded by avg talent his teams would struggle to even make the playoffs.

I'm no LBJ fan but he's earned my respect mostly because he's taken 2 teams with middling talent to the finals.
 
Shark58 said:
I'm probably very biased because, as a Knicks fan. I hate him but I truly feel if we was the lead dog surrounded by avg talent his teams would struggle to even make the playoffs.

I'm no LBJ fan but he's earned my respect mostly because he's taken 2 teams with middling talent to the finals.
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In 1994 after MJ retired Pippen was 1st team all-NBA and played the Knicks very tough in the East semifinals.
 
Eric15 said:
I feel like people are always looking to compare Lebron to either MJ or Magic, but I think a better version of Pippen is actually the best comparison there is. I hope for Scottie's sake that he hasn't lost his mind and knows that while Lebron is probably a Top 3-5 player ever, Scottie is more in the 20-30 range.

http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2015...-says-he-was-lebron-james-before-lebron-james
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lebron is def in the top 1-3 ranking. I clearly give the nod to MJ. but that is it. Lebron is my #2.
 
Shark58 said:
I'm probably very biased because, as a Knicks fan. I hate him but I truly feel if we was the lead dog surrounded by avg talent his teams would struggle to even make the playoffs.

I'm no LBJ fan but he's earned my respect mostly because he's taken 2 teams with middling talent to the finals.
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Dude averaged 18/7/5 for the Bulls, come on...
 
Eric15 said:
In 1994 after MJ retired Pippen was 1st team all-NBA and played the Knicks very tough in the East semifinals.
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so you are saying that with a 3 time defending championship team minus the best player ever (imho), plus SU alum Dave Johnson, he couldn't make it out of the 2nd round ;)
 
two3zone said:
Dude averaged 18/7/5 for the Bulls, come on...
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Not saying he wasn't a high quality player, but if not for playing wingman for MJ, he would be prob be a bottom 50, at best, argument.
 
Shark58 said:
Not saying he wasn't a high quality player, but if not for playing wingman for MJ, he would be prob be a bottom 50, at best, argument.
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So his stats would go down if MJ wasn't there?

How come the Bulls still made the playoffs and did well in the playoffs when MJ was gone for his year off? Pippen had a hand in that. It would be crazy to see his numbers without a dominate scorer on his team.
 
two3zone said:
So his stats would go down if MJ wasn't there?

How come the Bulls still made the playoffs and did well in the playoffs when MJ was gone for his year off? Pippen had a hand in that. It would be crazy to see his numbers without a dominate scorer on his team.
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if he was the key focus of every defensive set instead of almost never being one? it woulda been much tougher for him to earn his numbers. plus all the added attention = more hits, and contact made Scottie play soft.

as for the 1 year of playoffs, guys like Tracy McGrady had several years of playoffs, and I don't see anyone calling for him to be near the top 20 NBA GOATs...although admittedly, I haven't looked.
 
Scottie Pippen made All NBA first team 3 straight times, 2 of them without Jordan. He was an elite player.

Certainly his legacy wouldn't be the same without 6 championships(which obviously wouldn't have happened without Jordan)...you can say that about any great player that won championships though.

Also, I really wish the constant comparing of Lebron to old players and arguing who was better thing would die down, but it's been going strong for a good 5 years and showing no signs of slowing down.
 
Pippen is a terrible call that gave Hubert Davis 2 FTs in game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Semifinals from taking Chicago to the NBA Finals. That call by ref Hue Hollins was horrible. Pippen is an all-time great.
 
Alsacs said:
Pippen is a terrible call that gave Hubert Davis 2 FTs in game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Semifinals from taking Chicago to the NBA Finals. That call by ref Hue Hollins was horrible. Pippen is an all-time great.
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Agreed, that was a horrible call which in a series as tight as that one was made a huge difference.

They still would've had to beat the Pacers(who took the Knicks to 7) to get to the finals though.
 
Hypothetically, if it was Pippen that retired in 1993 instead of MJ, I think the Bulls playoff results would have been relatively the same as when MJ left. I don't think they would have had enough without Scottie to get past a Knicks team that was peaking.
 
Pippen was incredible. Also worth pointing out Jordan didn't win any titles without Pippen. (I know, i know, just saying)

Pippen was the man in 1994.
 
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