- Dennis Rodman was on ESPN with Scottie Pippen a few years ago
- While praising his former teammate, Rodman mentioned Scottie’s influence on the game as a skilled 6’9 superstar
- Dennis Rodman then wildly said that Kevin Durant should kiss Scottie Pippen’s a**
Scottie Pippen is always spoken of after Michael Jordan, so people forget the impact he had on the way basketball is played. Scottie Pippen practically invented the point-forward position. So when Dennis Rodman was praising him some years ago, he spoke about that in the most Rodman-esque fashion possible.
“Scottie has never heard me say this, but I’m gonna say it to him on national TV around the world; Scottie Pippen is probably the innovator of the point forward position,” Rodman said on ESPN’s The Jump in 2021.
“I love Magic; I love Bird, I love Drexler, I love all these guys, but I want the world to know that this guy right here – smooth, I mean, this guy, 6’9″, Kevin Durant kiss his a**.”
(starts at 18:05 minutes)
Scottie Pippen played in the NBA for 17 seasons, most of it with the Chicago Bulls, where he won six championships alongside Michael Jordan.
Scottie Pippen was a star in his own right though, a 7-time All-Star, a 7-time All NBA selection, and a 10-time All-Defensive Team selection. And his accolades were only a part of it.
A lot of the Bulls’ triangle offense flowed through Pippen, who averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game for his entire career. And that makes him a unique superstar, arguably the first modern, two-way wing.
Although Dennis Rodman said it in a crass manner, the importance of the two-way wing and the playmaking wing came thanks to what Scottie Pippen achieved.
Scottie Pippen’s Success Revolutionized The Forward Position
Phil Jackson once said Michael Jordan is a terrific player, but Scottie Pippen is the complete package. His words explain the legacy Scottie Pippen had left behind, and the effects of it are felt in the modern NBA.
A 6’7-6’10 forward that can play both ends of the court and let the offense run through him is arguably the most valuable commodity in the league today. LeBron James is a perfect example, and he acknowledged Scottie Pippen’s impact.
Kevin Durant is a unicorn when it comes to his scoring, but the archetype he fits in is part of a trail that Scottie Pippen first popularized. It is safe to say that Scottie Pippen revolutionized the game and that Dennis Rodman wasn’t just giving wild statements.
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