Suns Veteran Defends Scottie Pippen After Bulls Legend’s Legacy Takes a Nasty Hit on Twitter

From showcasing the great skills of a power forward in his rebounding ability and the finesse of a shooting guard with his finishing touch, Scottie Pippen was a player ahead of his time. Paired with Michael Jordan, he was instrumental in leading the Chicago Bulls to 6 championships. However, recently, an X account aimed to reduce his contributions and impact.

As many rallied to support Pippen, another NBA icon also chimed in to settle the debate. Taking to his X account, Phoenix Suns legend Eddie Johnson wrote, “This is a dumb $&$& tweet. You have zero clue about the value and position Scottie played. He was a point guard that guarded every damm position on the court. He was the king of the triangle offense!”

Here is the tweet in question that has the entire Pippen fandom in commotion. “Pippen was an SF, not a SG, and 3rd best in neither category. And while crucial to the Bulls’ success, he has become predictably overrated since 2016, and in reality, was far less significant than people today give him credit for. Other than that, your Tweet is 100% accurate.” 

While the comment praised Pippen’s efforts to lead the Bulls in their championship success, the statement seemed to suggest how Pippen wasn’t as great in his later years as suggested. Furthermore, it also claimed the 6x NBA champion’s hype to be overrated.

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As per the tweet, Pippen was indeed a small forward, however, that didn’t stop him from taking any position whenever the situation demanded. More than the best, he completed the team without which Bulls and Jordan wouldn’t have won the titles. 

Scottie Pippen and the triangle offense

Under the guidance of coach Phil Jackson, Pippen would often take up Jordan’s role whenever the champion was benched. While it didn’t work out at first, the #33 slowly but surely found his footing in the system. He excelled as a Shooting Guard, Point-Forward, and occasionally as a Power Forward, in addition to his main position. All in all, he was a versatile player. 

While his defense skills were the best, Pippen was also great at offense. One of the most key systems, the triangle offense which was started by Jackson and assistant coach Tex Winter put his skills on display. Speaking of this unbelievable strategy, Pippen once shared, “In the triangle offense, you can move the basketball, it’ll find its way back to you, and once that became believable and realistic, then I think Tex felt like he had conquered the greatest player in basketball in terms of believing in his teammates.”

Although, apart from Jordan, he was one of the most important reasons why this offense worked out. While some fans have always regarded him as a top 10 player, even Jordan named him as his best teammate. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below. 

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