Dominique Wilkins was recently a guest on the JAXXON podcast, where he spoke about Michael Jordan‘s career in the NBA. Wilkins believes, for as good as MJ was, he would not have been able to win the 6 NBA championships that he did without solid teammates like Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, and Horace Grant, among others.
“If you look at the championships with Chicago for example. Mike [Jordan] doesn’t get six championships without those other pieces. Scottie [Pippen], Horace Grant, [Toni] Kukoc, and eventually Dennis Rodman, all those people. [Steve] Kerr, [John] Paxson, I mean they were all special pieces to those championship teams and you can’t win without it.”
Wilkins is absolutely right about the importance Jordan’s teammates had on his career success. Michael Jordan was arguably the best player in the NBA within the first few years of his career. But it wasn’t until the arrival and development of Scottie Pippen that Jordan would win his first NBA championship in 1991.
Furthermore, if you look at Jordan’s second run with the Bulls, it becomes clear how important players like Steve Kerr and Dennis Rodman were. Prior to Rodman’s arrival, the Bulls tried to face off against the Magic with just Jordan and Pippen, and no Horace Grant, who had left to join the Magic that year. The Magic trounced the Bulls.
The following year, after landing Dennis Rodman, the Bulls swept the Magic, off the back of their incredible 72-10 season, en route to the 1996 NBA championship. And who can forget the incredible clutch shots Steve Kerr made in the 1997 NBA Finals to help seal the championship for the Bulls?
Michael Jordan Respects All His Teammates’ Contributions
Of course, Wilkins was not suggesting that Michael Jordan didn’t respect his teammates or their contributions, but he was just making a larger point about how important the whole team is when it comes to championship success in the NBA.
Michael Jordan himself has gone out of his way to show respect to his teammates at several different points in his career. The Last Dance documentary saw him give shine and love to several teammates he had during his NBA career, such as Horace Grant, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Kerr to name a few.
In fact, during his Pro Basketball Hall of Fame speech, he noted that he would not win the 6 NBA championships he did during his career if Scottie Pippen was not his teammate.
While Jordan was by far the best player on the Bulls, there is no denying that they had an incredible roster of stars and role players. All of the players on the different championship teams played their roles very well and contributed at a high level during the Bulls’ deep playoff runs.
Michael Jordan wouldn’t have been able to find the same championship success he did were he to have different teammates, or if the teammates he had didn’t deliver at the level they did during his legendary career.
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