A lot has been said about Michael Jordan. Many consider his offensive bag to be one of the most formidable in league history. But the basketball world seems to forget how great of a defensive asset Jordan’s teammate and frenemy Scottie Pippen was. One of Chicago’s former rivals from the 80’s recently hailed Pippen as a top defender and lauded his role in the success of the Chicago Bulls. A former NBA Champion and Celtics legend seemingly shares a similar opinion about the six time champion.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen won six championship titles together. In fact it was not until Chicago signed Pippen they saw the glory days come to life. As good as Jordan was many would agree he would not have achieved the similar feat if it was not for Pippen.

Celtics legend give props to Scottie Pippen

The Chicago Bulls established their era of dominance with Michael Jordan as the lead guard and Scottie Pippen keeping the other team at bay through his sublime ability to lock up opponents. Bad Boy Pistons legend Isiah Thomas frequently faced this duo. In fact, he is one of the few players to have come out on top frequently.

In a recent interview, Zeke lauded Pippen as one of the greatest defenders of all time. 2004 NBA MVP Kevin Garnett seems to agree.

Isiah Thomas said, “When we talk about probably the greatest and the best defender that’s ever played in the NBA, Chicago had two of them Rodman and Scottie Pippen. But Scottie was different. You know as a defender, at his best, I may have to say He and Rodman one and two best defenders probably ever to play the game.”

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Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett reposted the clip on his social media handle and tweeted “Pip was a MF.”

Garnett praised Pippen despite the fact that he crossed paths with him earlier. Their first matchup did not feature any nice words.

Kevin Garnett threatened Pippen once

The Big Ticket and Scottie Pippen faced each other when Garnett was in high school.? KG had the responsibility of guarding Pippen. Scottie notably undermined Kevin’s ball abilities.

Garnett, in a fit of rage, said, “I don’t know what you think this is n****,’ and he was like, ‘What n****, what?’ And he shot me the ball, I shot him back, we pushed up, and I said, “I’ll have these n****s kill you in here.”

Garnett was later applauded by Michael Jordan for his willingness to lock horns with a major NBA star. This incident highlighted Kevin’s competitiveness and insane demeanor on court. Eventually it would help earn him the 2008 NBA Championship.

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