Before we begin, I just want to emphasize that I am not trying to diminish Scottie's accomplishments and I agree that Jordan would not have won 6 without Scottie, though I believe he would have won 2 or 3. However, not being able to win 6 without Scottie is irrelevant since no player has won 2+ rings without another Hall of Fame teammate.
The purpose of this section is to dispel the myths created by those that use Pippen as a means to discredit Jordan's accomplishments.
- Barry did it with rookie Jamaal Wilkes shooting 32% in the 1975 Finals
- Walton did it once in 1977 (but with Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay)
- Hakeem did it once in 1994
The purpose of this section is to dispel the myths created by those that use Pippen as a means to discredit Jordan's accomplishments.
1) Jordan's 1-9 playoff record before playing with Scottie Pippen
- Having no Scottie Pippen was not the only reason for Jordan's struggles in the first 3 seasons of his career
- Jordan was drafted to a team of multiple cocaine addicts, including Orlando Woolridge and Quintin Dailey - both of whom eventually left the team due to their addictions
- Jordan also missed nearly his entire 2nd season due to a broken foot, during which the Bulls went 21-43 without Jordan. Do you really expect him to make it out the first round after missing nearly the entire season with a 21-43 team, and with crack addicts on top of that?
- Jordan only played 2 full seasons before playing with Pippen thanks to his injury. Going off an extremely selective 2 season sample size, one can point out that LeBron didn't even make the playoffs his first 2 seasons, or that Shaq had an 0-3 playoff record after his first 2 seasons.
2) Jordan having 5 losing seasons in all 5 seasons without Pippen
The first 3 seasons have already been explained. Lets take a look at Jordan's Wizards years with FULL context
MJ 2001/02 season before injury (Age 38) through 46 games (pts, rebs, assist, steals, blk)
- 25.1 - 6.2 - 5.3 - 1.5 - 0.5 on 42% - slightly better than his 1996 Finals MVP averages
- T-Mac was the only player to finish the season averaging at least 25-6-5
Defensively Jordan also had an impact even at this late stage of his career.
2001 Wizards = 2nd worst in ppg allowed the year before.
Up to the injury game
2002 Wizards = allowed 92.2 ppg through 47 games (Jordan missed 1 game)
- would be tied for 6th-best in the league with the Pistons.
2002 Wizards = allowed 92.0 ppg in the 46 games Jordan played
- would be tied for 5th best in the league with the Nets
2002 Wizards = allowed 92.0 ppg in the 46 games Jordan played
- would be tied for 5th best in the league with the Nets
After Jordan's injury
2002 Wizards = allowed 96.8 ppg in the remaining 35 games
- would be ranked 19th in the league
- and fell to 11th in ppg allowed for the overall season.
The only negative of Jordan's game was FG%, which is to be expected at the tail end of your career, and his low FG% had much more to do with his back, rib, knee, and wrist injuries along with his old age, rather than the defense he was facing. However, low FG% doesn't necessarily equate to a negative effect on your team's win column.
This is also despite the absence of Rip Hamilton for about a month during Jordan's 26-20 stretch (Jordan missed 1 game vs the Spurs - bringing their record to 26-21 before the injury). - In Jordan's 46 games before knee injury the Wiz had a 26-20 (0.565 win%).
- In games without MJ and post-injury, the Wiz had a 11-25 (0.300 win%)
In the last 16 games that Rip and Jordan played together prior to Jordan's knee collision, the Wizards went 15-1, and they won 13 straight games when both of them played together. Had both Rip and MJ stayed healthy, they very well could have cracked 50 wins overall despite starting the season 2-9 and being a 19-win team the previous year.
After Jordan's injury, Rip went 9-24 (0.273 win%) in the remaining games he played, so it was clearly Jordan who had by far the most impact on the W column. The following season, Jordan didn't have as much of an impact on the W column in the 2002/03 season as they went 37-45. His impact prior to injury is unquestionable, however.
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| Jordan's Wizard years are extremely misunderstood. Prior to his injury he had the Wizards in great position for a playoff run |
Some more facts
- Jordan = 31-12 (0.721 win%) without Pippen in the last 3peat
- Jordan = 36-9 (0.800 win%) without Rodman in 95/96 and 96/97 seasons
In the 1997/98 season, The Bulls started off 9-7 without Pippen and then went 15-4 in their next 19 games before Pippen's return. Once they found their rhythm, they were playing exceptionally well without him.
The 1993/94 Bulls had a similar scenario where they started off the season 4-7, but ended up with 55 wins, and the same thing happened with the 2001/02 Wizards starting 2-9 but going 26-20 overall in the games Jordan played pre-injury, even with Rip Hamilton missing about a month.
3) Pippen won 55 without Jordan and made the 2000 WCF without Jordan
See Section 8 regarding the 55 wins and the 1993/94 Bulls. The main points to keep in mind
- Jordan NEVER played with Pippen's entire supporting cast at the same time like Pippen did during the 1993/94 season
- Grant, Cartwright, Armstrong, Kukoc, Kerr
- Regular season wins are not the barometer for success, as the 2004 and 2005 Pistons (54 wins each - made the Finals) prove compared to the 2006 Pistons (64 wins - lost in ECF)
Regarding the 2000 WCF, Pippen joined a Blazers team that already made the 1999 WCF in the previous year without Pippen.
The surprising part is that Jordan actually DID get a career winning record without Scottie despite all those injuries, lack of experience, and off-court distractions. Jordan was 193 - 187 (0.508 win%) without Pippen in his career. And remember, this is including the games after Jordan's knee injury in Washington at age 38.
- 1984/85 - 38-44
- 1985/86 - 9-9
- 1986/87 - 40-42
- 1987/88 - 3-0
- 1988/89 - 4-5
- First 3peat - 1-0
- Last 3peat - 31-12
- 2001/02 - 30-30
- 2002/03 - 37-45
And lastly, there were several instances where Jordan had to carry the team with Pippen missing or struggling and proved he could get it done regardless (This is more carry-over from Section 8)
1989 ECSF, Game 6 vs Knicks
- Pippen was ejected at the end of the 3rd quarter
- Bulls were a 6 seed team vs the 2-seed Knicks
- Without Pippen, MJ drops 12-2-3-1-2 in only the 4th quarter, and the game-winning FTs to get the Bulls in the ECF for the first time in history
1989 ECF vs Pistons
- MJ carried them to 2 wins vs Pistons - no other team beat them once in the playoffs
- Pippen had a poor 10-7-3 on 40% for the series, while Jordan had to shut down the best player, Isiah, and with Pippen disappearing they lose
1991 Finals, Game 3 vs Lakers
- Pippen fouled out in Game 3 with 10 secs left, Bulls down 2
- without Pippen, Jordan nails the game tying shot, and causes the deflection on the next possession to force OT
- Jordan leads the Bulls on a 14-4 run after Pippen fouls out, and scores or sets up 12 of their 14 pts
- Without Pippen, Jordan shuts down Magic to 0-0-0 on 0/2 FG and steals a turnover from Magic in the OT to take the 2-1 series lead
1997 Finals vs Jazz - Pippen did not do well in 3 of the 4 wins, including the series-deciding Games 5 and 6
- In Game 2, Pippen had 10-6-4 on a terrible 31%. Rodman only had 7 rebounds in 25 minutes, and Harper was the only other double digit teammate with 13-2-4 on 50%
- Jordan carried the team with 38-13-9-2 on 55%, leading them in points, rebounds, and assists by a large margin. He had almost triple the points of his next leading scorer (38 to 13), almost double the rebounds of the next rebounder (13 to 7) and more than double the next-leading player in assists (9 to 4)
- In the Flu game, Pippen had 17 pts but on a horrible 29% shooting. Pippen also had 5 assists to 3 turnovers and 4 fouls.
- Kukoc was the only other Jordan teammate in double figures with 12
- Dennis Rodman fouled out in only 23 minutes during the Flu Game.
- Greg Ostertag, of all people, outrebounded all of Jordan's teammates with 15. Greg Ostertag.
- Ostertag and Stockton both outscored all of Jordan's teammates besides Pippen, who needed a shot-jacking and bricking 29% to get his points.
- Despite having so little help on offense, Jordan singlehandedly brought the Bulls back from 16 down and had the go-ahead 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Jordan finished with 38-7-5-3 on 48%, leading his team in points, assists, and steals
- In Game 6, Pippen had 23 points, but on a horrible 35% with 2 assists to 5 turnovers and 5 fouls. To his credit, he did force a turnover on the last possession of the game, but that was only possible thanks to Jordan having the game-winning assist one play earlier in spite of Pippen's horrible play.
- In Game 6, no other player besides Pippen and Jordan had 10 points, and as we saw Pippen was shooting horribly to get those points. Every other teammate of Jordan's got outscored by John Stockton, Bryon Russell, Jeff Hornacek, and Karl Malone.
- Despite the lack of help, Jordan ended up with 39-11-4, leading his team in points, rebounds, and assists, and set up Steve Kerr for a wide-open shot with his championship-winning assist.
- In the 1997 Finals, Jordan averaged 32-7-6-1-1 on 46%. If we count assists as 2 points, he scored/assisted 44 of the Bulls 88 ppg in the 1997 Finals - exactly 50% of their points were because of Jordan.
- After being tied 2-2, Pippen struggled in the clinching games 5 and 6, averaging 20 ppg on 32% shooting with 3.5 apg to 4 turnovers and 4.5 fouls. Yet Jordan made a game-winning play in both Games 5 and 6 to win the title.
- After having 27-9-2 on 58% in the Game 1 win, Pippen averaged 16.7 - 8.3 - 3.7 on 32% with 3.0 TOpg and 3.7 fouls per game in their last 3 wins during Games 2-5-6.
- Including Pippen's good Game 1, he averaged 19.3 - 8.5 - 3.3 on 39% with 3.8 TOpg and 3.3 fouls per game in the 4 wins. Pippen averaged more turnovers than assists and as many fouls as assists in the 4 wins while shooting 35% or worse in 3/4 wins
1997/98 season
- Pippen injured, misses half the season
- Jordan still carries them to 62 wins and a top 3 defense and with another MVP and scoring title
1998 ECF vs Pacers
- Game 4 - Pippen misses 2 clutch FT at the end, and Reggie hits the game winning 3
- Pippen could have made it 3-1, but his choking made the series tied at 2-2
- Game 6 - Pippen has only 1 pt in the 4th quarter, Bulls lose by 2
- Game 7 - Jordan shoots poorly, but drops a near triple double 28-9-8
- Reggie Miller killed the Bulls for 22 pts on 7/12 FG in 3 qtrs
- Jordan's near triple double and lockdown on Reggie in Game 7 saved the season after Pippen nearly blew it in Games 4 and 6
- Reggie went on to average 28 ppg on 48% in Games 2-6 vs the 2000 Lakers at age 34, after only one bad game in Game 1. Lakers had the number 1 Drtg that year
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| Game 6 of the 1998 Finals with Pippen injured was one of many times that Jordan had to carry the team with his best player struggling |
1998 Finals, Game 6
- Pippen injured again, misses most of the game
- Rodman got destroyed by Malone - 31-11-7 on 58%
- Both of Jordan's best players disappeared
- Kukoc is the only Jordan teammate in double figures with 15
- Jeff Hornacek outscored all of Jordan's teammates
- Bulls are facing a Game 7 in Utah with a severely injured Pippen if they don't win Game 6
- Bulls are facing a Game 7 in Utah with a severely injured Pippen if they don't win Game 6
- Jordan took over, scored more than half the Bulls points, and it was Jordan that made arguably the biggest defensive play in Finals history when he stripped Malone and made the game winner
More
- Looking at how the Jordan Era players had an easier time in the modern era
- Looking at how a 38-40 year old Jordan himself schooled the 2000s defenders
SECTION 3 - Jordan's "Weak" Defensive Competition Compared to Lebron/Kobe's "Advanced" Competition
- Proving the vast superiority of individual defenders of Jordan's era compared to the 2000s
- Destroying the myth that Jordan never played zone defense
- Proof that 80s/90s players would still have success guarding 2000s players without the 80s/90s rules
- Looking at how Jordan did against the 80s teams and why expansion did not make it easier to win championships
- Proof that Jordan's Competition was 80s-quality and far better than the 2000s era
- Looking at the truth of how the Bulls did without Jordan, and how other great teams did without their stars.
- Did Jordan really get any more special treatment than other superstars? Nope.
- Exposing the myths behind the great, but misunderstood, Wilt Chamberlain
- Looking at how Lebron got locked down by defenders of the 2000s era and comparing them to the vastly superior 80s/90s
- Destroying one of the media's biggest misconceptions regarding Lebron's solid but vastly overrated defense
- Lebron fans think no player in history could succeed if their teammates don't step up, and that Lebron is the only one who has carried a team on his back. Is that really the case?
- The real Jordan vs Lebron comparison
- The real Jordan vs Kobe comparison
- Kareem is great, but he is not even the greatest center of all-time, let alone the greatest of all-time.
- The full context behind Jordan's struggles without Pippen
- A look at how Jordan turned the Wizards around before his knee injury caught up to him
- Looking at Jordan's defensive impact in detail, both as a team player and 1 on 1 defender
- Looking at the strong evidence supporting that Jordan would have achieved more than what LeBron has in Cleveland and Miami
SECTION 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon: The Greatest Center of All-Time
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the best center of all-time, and there is strong evidence to prove it
SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Chris Paul is an extremely overrated playoff performer and defender, and isn't even a top 5 PG of his own era, let alone all-time
SECTION 23 - Kevin Johnson: The Most Underrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Kevin Johnson is an extremely underrated and under-appreciated point guard, who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and considered a top-10 point guard of all-time
SECTION 24 - The Three Greatest Playoff Runs of All-Time
- Analyzing the three greatest individual playoff runs in NBA history
SECTION 25 - The Worst Finals Performances of All-Time
- Analyzing the worst performances in NBA Finals history
SECTION 26 - Jordan vs Russell
- Comparing the two players who won the most championships as the best player on their team
SECTION 27 - The Five Greatest Coaches of All-Time
- Taking a look at the greatest coaches in NBA history
SECTION 28 - The Least Deserving Finals MVPs of All-Time
- Taking a look at the players who least deserved to win their Finals MVPs
SECTION 29 - Refuting 10 Myths About Michael Jordan
- Refuting certain myths about Jordan, as well as abridging of some of the main points in earlier sections for easier reference.
SECTION 30 - The 20 Greatest Conference Finals Runs of All-Time
- Ranking the 20 greatest playoff runs in which a player played 3 rounds before losing prior to the NBA Finals
SECTION 31 - The 1970s: The Weakest Decade of the NBA's Post-Infancy
- Why the 1970s was the weakest decade of any era from 1960-present
SECTION 32 - The 10 Worst Supporting Casts on NBA Finals Teams (1960-Present)
- Examining the worst supporting casts on teams that reached the NBA Finals
SECTION 33 - The 10 Greatest Rookie Playoff Runs of All-Time
- The most impressive playoff runs in which rookies led their team to at least one series win
SECTION 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon: The Greatest Center of All-Time
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the best center of all-time, and there is strong evidence to prove it
SECTION 22 - Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Chris Paul is an extremely overrated playoff performer and defender, and isn't even a top 5 PG of his own era, let alone all-time
SECTION 23 - Kevin Johnson: The Most Underrated Point Guard Of All-Time
- Kevin Johnson is an extremely underrated and under-appreciated point guard, who should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and considered a top-10 point guard of all-time
SECTION 24 - The Three Greatest Playoff Runs of All-Time
- Analyzing the three greatest individual playoff runs in NBA history
SECTION 25 - The Worst Finals Performances of All-Time
- Analyzing the worst performances in NBA Finals history
SECTION 26 - Jordan vs Russell
- Comparing the two players who won the most championships as the best player on their team
SECTION 27 - The Five Greatest Coaches of All-Time
- Taking a look at the greatest coaches in NBA history
SECTION 28 - The Least Deserving Finals MVPs of All-Time
- Taking a look at the players who least deserved to win their Finals MVPs
SECTION 29 - Refuting 10 Myths About Michael Jordan
- Refuting certain myths about Jordan, as well as abridging of some of the main points in earlier sections for easier reference.
SECTION 30 - The 20 Greatest Conference Finals Runs of All-Time
- Ranking the 20 greatest playoff runs in which a player played 3 rounds before losing prior to the NBA Finals
SECTION 31 - The 1970s: The Weakest Decade of the NBA's Post-Infancy
- Why the 1970s was the weakest decade of any era from 1960-present
SECTION 32 - The 10 Worst Supporting Casts on NBA Finals Teams (1960-Present)
- Examining the worst supporting casts on teams that reached the NBA Finals
SECTION 33 - The 10 Greatest Rookie Playoff Runs of All-Time
- The most impressive playoff runs in which rookies led their team to at least one series win
All these points are correct but u are forgetting a huge fact that in Pippens rookie year when Jordan won his first playoff series Pippen averaged only 7 ppg. So I think its safe to say that without Pippen Jordan would still have won his first playoff series.
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