Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are arguably the most celebrated duo in the history of the NBA. Together, they won 6 championships with the Chicago Bulls across 8 seasons. The two might not see eye to eye anymore, but even Michael Jordan once admitted that he would not have been able to achieve everything he did without Scottie Pippen. But where it goes too far sometimes is when fans try to make it out that MJ only won because of Pippen.
Michael Jordan came into the league 3 seasons without Scottie Pippen. In the remainder of his career with the Bulls, he had Scottie alongside him for every season. He also played two seasons without Pippen as a part of the Washington Wizards in the 2000s, but those years were quite poor as well. As such, most of his success came when he had Scottie on the same team as him. And an NBA fan on Reddit recently highlighted that.
“Michael Jordan’s record without Scottie Pippen: 154-170 in regular season and 1-9 in the playoffs. Just saw this stat. I thought everyone was saying that MJ was a winner. Did he really only win with Scottie Pippen?”
On the face of it, this stat seems like it makes sense, but there is a lot more to it than just that. Michael Jordan played on the Chicago Bulls when they were one of the worst teams in the league to start his career. He also put up MVP numbers without Pippen and went up against a stacked Eastern Conference. He was the bigger star even though Pippen was important.
NBA Fans Explained In Clear Terms Why That Statistic Doesn’t Take Away From Michael Jordan’s Greatness
While this may seem like an interesting take, it fails to make sense without context. And the other fans on the forum were quick to roast this fan for his insinuation.
“Basketball is a team sport. Dummy.”
“This is so dumb, do you know what type of teams MJ played on?”
“Scottie was instrumental but this stat tells me nothing.”
“Bait. Lebron didn’t win until he had a real team around him either. No one does.”
“Also have to add the context of how bad the Bulls were when Jordan got there.”
“This is just where people have to understand that everything doesn’t have to be black and white.”
“I think more than anything this highlights that he didn’t play with great teammates.”
“Basketball is a team sport and MJ was a legendary baller. Both are true.”
“This is the most bs cherry-picked stat I have ever seen.”
“When Scottie did get there MJ had to average 40 points just to get out the first round.”
“People need to stop this nonsense.”
Trying to discredit Michael Jordan using his stats without Scottie Pippen as an example makes no sense. Most of his prime was alongside Scottie, and their resume from that time speaks for itself. During their time together on the Bulls, MJ had a 66% win percentage without Scottie as well, so it’s safe to say that this narrative can truly be debunked.
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