As great and legendary as he was, Scottie Pippen isn’t considered one of the flashiest names in NBA history. Pippen perfectly adapted to his role as Michael Jordan’s sidekick and never complained; he wanted to win and nothing else.
However, people always wonder how he would’ve fared if he decided to follow his own path instead of helping Jordan succeed. Well, he was asked about that recently, explaining that winning was everything for him, and that means more than making a lot of money or being ridiculously famous.
Talking with GQ, Pippen, revealed he just tried to get championships, making sacrifices to reach that goal.
It feels like a very honest perspective. It said in the book that you set aside your ego and your “limitless professional ceiling” to achieve what you did. What does that actually mean? What did you set aside?
I think it says it all. You can find happiness in life and it don’t always have to be financial.
Do you think you could’ve been an even bigger star?
Financially, I could’ve been a different star. But to have the longevity that I’ve had from a public standpoint? Nothing replaces wins. That’s what puts you on such a stage of having this forever phase that people remember. That comes from winning. That’s not coming from just being in the league 17 years. It comes from being on the forefront for 17 years. Being on people’s television set, year in and year out, playing for a title. I could’ve went and been financially better off for the moment. But winning has given me financial stability for a long time.
In the end, that really paid off for him. He’s one of the biggest winners in NBA history, a 6x NBA champion regarded as the best ‘Robin’ of all time. We haven’t seen a player like Pippen since he retired and that really shows how great he was.
It’s unfair that he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, but No. 33 isn’t worried about that.
