There is a wild thought going on in the basketball world. Who would Michael Jordan be without Scottie Pippen? The duo won six titles together with the Chicago Bulls and is considered to be the greatest duo of basketball. But without each other, they have not had great success.
Jordan was unable to reach the Finals without Pippen, and Pippen never reached the same level without Jordan. With the Last Dance documentary increasing the divide between the former teammates, an NBA Legend weighs on who contributed the most during their run.
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Shaquille O?Neal has been vocal about who the GOAT is and what level did Jordan contribute to their run. Shaq shared a story with a post on Instagram showing the averages of Jordan’s series average in the first round of their first run together. Jordan averaged 45.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.8 APG, 2.8 SPG, 1.6 BPG with 63.2% TS.
That is some absurd stats and what is even more impressive about it is that this happened in the playoffs. And Shaq also put out Pippen’s stats in the same series and let’s just say it’s not that great.
Shaquille O?Neal makes a brutal admission on Scottie Pippen while comparing him to Michael Jordan
While showing Jordan’s stats, Shaq also put out Pippen’s stats. Pippen averaged 10.6PPG, 5.2RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG with 49% TS. There is no question who was the better player at the time and who had a higher contribution. And Shaq was quick to point that out. He also sarcastically put out a line saying, here’s how MJ got carried by Pippen, out of 1-9, indicating that there is still more to come.
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To be fair, this was Pippen’s rookie season and while he showed great promise, he wasn’t the Pippen we know today. He took a few years to develop to become an all-time great and when he reached his prime, there was no stopping the duo. But Jordan’s stats were also absurd, and it is rare to see a player like that again.
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The Last Dance showed what Jordan had to go through and it took the view of Jordan to another level. It also missed out to show how Pippen contributed to their run. This did not sit well with the legend. Reportedly, the duo isn’t even on talking terms anymore.