Scottie Pippen on Being as Great as Michael Jordan: “In Basketball, There’s No Way to Place Yourself. It’s Hard to Place Tom Brady at the Top of the NFL.”

There’s a reason there isn’t a single answer for who’s the greatest player to ever step on a basketball court. Some might argue it is Michael Jordan or LeBron James, among innumerable other names that come up in that discussion. However, the reason for it is simple.

The circumstances in terms of team styles, quality of teammates, tactics, as well as the trends of the periods in which they performed are vastly different since it is a matter of ‘all-time’. And that basketball is a team sport. So there is no way that a single player deserves the credit for all the roles that their teammates play. And that is exactly what Scottie Pippen feels about placing himself in the discussion of the greatest players of all time.

When asked about placing himself among the greatest players of all time, this is what Scottie told GQ Sports.

Pippen on placing himself among greats like Michael Jordan

As part of the series of interviews for the promotion of his book, Pippen also spoke to GQ Sports. While discussing where he places himself among the greatest players of basketball, he had a modest and critically honest opinion about himself.

Also Read: Dwyane Wade on Choosing Stephen Curry Over Kevin Durant: “He Revolutionized the Sport. He’s One of Those Mount Rushmores”

He said, “Well, I’m gonna say, in basketball, there’s no way to place yourself, you know? There’s hard to place Tom Brady at the top of the NFL, even though he’s won a lot of championships, there are almost 70 players on each team. So, is he playing on every side of the football? Is he on kickoff? Is he on the punt return? Because if he ain’t playing all the roles, then he gotta give credit to his team. And I place myself with the greatest team that ever played in the NBA. That’s where I place myself.”

What does this mean for Scottie Pippen? Is he throwing shade?

In an excerpt of his new book ‘Unguarded’ released by GQ, Pippen clarified he was not happy with the way Jordan projected his role in the Last Dance documentary. And now he is talking about how it is important to give credit to your teammates where they deserve it. So is this another subtle jab at Michael Jordan? I guess we’ll never know.

But while it may be more plausible than Pippen suggests to evaluate the worth of players, there’s certainly no denying that the ‘team’ part of team sports doesn’t always get enough credit in GOAT debates.

Watch This Story: The Day Kevin Hart Actually Beat Usain Bolt in an NBA Showdown