Scottie Pippen
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| Pippen and his wife Larsa Younan at a Chicago Bulls game in December 2006. | |
| Position | Small forward |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Pip |
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Weight | 228 lb (103 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | September 25 1965 Hamburg, Arkansas |
| College | Central Arkansas |
| Draft | 5th overall, 1987 Seattle SuperSonics |
| Pro career | 1987–2004 |
| Former teams | Chicago Bulls 1987-1998, 2003-2004 Houston Rockets 1998-1999 Portland Trail Blazers 1999-2003 Torpan Pojat 2007-2008 (2 matches) Sundsvall Dragons 2007-2008 (1 match) |
| Awards | 6-Time NBA Champion 7 All-NBA Teams 10 NBA All-Defensive Teams 1994 All-Star Game MVP |
Scottie Maurice Pippen (born September 25, 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is most remembered for leading the Chicago Bulls, together with Michael Jordan, to six championships and for being one of the best all-around players of all time.
Contents |
[edit] NBA career
[edit] Early career
Scottie Pippen grew up in Hamburg, Arkansas, attending college at the University of Central Arkansas. At the start of his college career, the then 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Pippen was a walk-on for the NAIA school and depended on his stipend for being the team manager and his summer job as a welder to fund his education.[1] In those four years, however, Pippen grew to a height of 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) and improved enough by his senior year to be considered a viable NBA prospect. Pippen's performance in the pre-draft Portsmouth Invitational Tournament also improved his draft stock dramatically. He was selected fifth overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, who immediately traded him to the Chicago Bulls for the eighth pick, Olden Polynice. The trade is regarded as a steal by the Bulls as Pippen would go on to become one of the Top 50 NBA players of all time.
Pippen immediately became part of Chicago's young forward tandem with 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) power forward Horace Grant, though both came off the bench to back up Brad Sellers and Charles Oakley, respectively, during their rookie seasons. Pippen claimed the starting small forward position during the 1988 playoffs with his stellar play, helping the Michael Jordan-led Bulls reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time in over a decade.
[edit] The Bulls' first three-peat
Pippen continued to improve, helping the Bulls to the Conference Finals the following year as well as 1990, when he earned his first NBA All-Star Game berth. However, in the Conference Finals versus the Detroit Pistons, Pippen would suffer severe migraines during the deciding seventh game which would greatly affect his performance. In 1991, he continued to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with. Pippen emerged as the Bulls' primary defensive stopper and an offensive threat. He helped lead the Bulls to six NBA championships (1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, and 1997–98). Pippen was selected as one of the NBA's Fifty Greatest Players when the league was celebrating its fiftieth season in 1996.
Pippen became known for stellar defense in addition to his consistent scoring, earning 10 NBA All-Defensive Team nods, including 8 on the first team. In 1992, he was named to the original Dream Team which competed in the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Basketball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | United States | |
| Gold | 1996 Atlanta | United States | |
[edit] Pippen without Jordan
Michael Jordan unexpectedly retired in 1993, and the 1994 season marked Pippen's stepping out from Jordan's shadow and he performed as one of the best players in the league. That year, he earned All-Star Game MVP honors. He had perhaps his best season, leading the Bulls in scoring, assists, and the entire league in steals, averaging 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.9 steals, 0.9 three-pointers, and 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 49.1% from the field and a career-best 32% from the three-point line. For his efforts, he earned the first of three straight All-NBA First Team nods, and finished third in the MVP voting. The Bulls finished the season with 55 wins, only two less than their previous championship year with Jordan still on the team.
Perhaps the most infamous episode of Pippen's career came in the post-season of Pippen's first year without Jordan, the 1993-94 playoffs, where the Eastern Conference semifinals pitted the Bulls against their bitter rivals, the New York Knicks. On May 13, 1994, down 2-0 in the series and tied 102-102 in Game Three, Bulls coach Phil Jackson needed a big play from his team to have any hope of advancing to the next round of the playoffs. With 1.8 seconds left and the score tied, Jackson designed the last play for Toni Kukoč, with Pippen relegated to simply inbounding the basketball. Pippen, who had been the Bulls' leader all season long in Jordan's absence, was so angered by Jackson's decision to not let him take the potential game-winner that he refused to leave the bench and re-enter the game when the timeout was over.
Although Kukoč did eventually hit the game-winner, a 23-foot fadeaway jumper, there was little celebrating to be done by the Bulls, as television cameras caught an unsmiling Phil Jackson storming out of the arena. "Scottie asked out of the play," Jackson would tell reporters moments later in the post-game interview room. Those seeking further answers found Pippen in the locker room after the game, looking shell-shocked and disoriented; when asked to confirm Jackson's statement, Pippen could only respond with "Yeah, pretty much ... We exchanged words, and I just took a seat."
Teammate Steve Kerr elaborated when recently asked to recall the event: "I was shocked," he said. "The only way to describe it was total disbelief. Here was a guy who had done so much for our team, who had been our leader all year long. He was, and still is, one of the greatest teammates I've ever had. But on that day, I think all the pressure and frustration of our season caught up with him, and he snapped." Pippen later apologized to his teammates after the incident.
The Bulls went on to lose the 1994 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Knicks in seven games. A second controversy occurred in the series at the end of game 5 when Pippen was called for a debatable foul on the Knicks' Hubert Davis in the waning seconds of the game, which allowed the Knicks to win game 5.
Trade rumors escalated during the 1994 off-season that Jerry Krause, the Bulls General Manager who did not get along with Pippen, was looking to ship Pippen off to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Shawn Kemp, moving Toni Kukoč into Pippen's position as starting small forward with Kemp filling in the vacant starting power forward position in place of Horace Grant, who left the Bulls via free agency during the off-season for the Orlando Magic. However, the trade was never made and those rumors were put to rest once it was announced that Michael Jordan was returning to the Bulls late in the 1994-1995 season. The Bulls could definitely use him, because the Pippen-led Bulls did not fare nearly as well in 94-95 as they did the prior season (though much of this may be attributed to a lack of interior defense and rebounding due to the departure of power forward Horace Grant). The Bulls were just 34-31 prior to Michael Jordan's return for the final 17 games, where MJ led them to a 13-4 record. Prior to Jordan's return, even making the playoffs was far from a lock. Pippen finished the 94-95 season leading the Bulls in every major statistical category: assists, rebounds, points, steals, and blocks. Pippen is one of only five players in NBA history to accomplish this feat.
[edit] The Bulls' second three-peat
Upon Jordan's return to the NBA, the Bulls regained their much needed strength. With a revamped roster that included Dennis Rodman and Luc Longley, the Bulls managed to post the best regular season record in NBA history (72-10) en route to winning their fourth title. The next season they finished 69-13 and lost out on the opportunity to win 70 games in back-to-back losses their final 2 games. Nonetheless they again won the title. They followed up by winning again in 1997-98 to cap their second threepeat.
[edit] Later career
After playing in Chicago for 11 seasons, his tumultuous relationship with General Manager Jerry Krause came to a head, and as Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson also departed Chicago, the second all-time leader in points, assists, and steals in Bulls franchise history was traded to the Houston Rockets for the lockout-shortened season in 1998–99. Pippen's trade to Houston received a lot of publicity including his only solo cover of Sports Illustrated.[2] While there he teamed with Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley to form one of the best front lines in NBA history, but his failure to assume the "franchise" mantle from Olajuwon led to chemistry problems (with Barkley in particular) and eventually his departure.
On April 22, 1999, Pippen was detained under suspicion of driving while intoxicated,[3] but the charges were later dropped due to insufficient evidence.
He was traded in the offseason to the Portland Trail Blazers, who he helped to the Western Conference finals, where they lost to the eventual champion, the Los Angeles Lakers, in seven games despite holding a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter of game seven. Pippen played on for several more seasons in Portland, but they never again advanced that far in the playoffs. After the 2002-03 season he re-signed with the Chicago Bulls. However, due to injury problems he was only able to suit up for 23 games in 2003-04 and retired shortly after the season.
For the most part, Pippen was a supplemental playoff performer, reaching the playoffs 16 straight years (11 with Chicago, 1 with Houston, 4 with Portland), and has played in more playoff games than any NBA player except Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Horry.
Pippen is considered among the best supporting players in NBA history and is also notable for having been a prototypical "point forward", a term which he popularized (and revitalized) with his ball-handling, passing and court vision—skills traditionally limited to point guards. This was in addition to his rebounding, scoring, and defense, all contributing to his consistent play for over a decade.
[edit] Retirement
After retiring, he spent some time working as a basketball analyst for the Chicago Bulls. Currently, he is a special assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. On December 25, 2005, Pippen debuted as studio analyst for the NBA on ABC. Before this he was a part-time analyst for ESPN.
The Chicago Bulls retired Pippen's jersey number on December 9, 2005 in a ceremony. The team played against the Los Angeles Lakers that night, and Pippen was reunited with Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, and Horace Grant during the ceremony. Pippen's jersey number, 33, joins Jordan's 23, Jerry Sloan's 4, and Bob Love's 10 as the only four numbers retired by the Bulls.
[edit] Return
ESPN reported in February 2007 that Pippen was contemplating a return to the NBA. Having been forced to retire three years prior due to a knee injury, Pippen expressed hope to play for an NBA team for the last two months of the 2006-2007 season.[4]
Pippen's announcement of a possible return to the NBA came on the heels of a $5 million settlement against him for breach of a contract being upheld, suggesting another reason for Pippen's return. [5]Charles Barkley was one of several commentators that were skeptical of Pippen's return, comparing the chances of that to his own desire of being thin (Barkley has been known to poke fun at his own weight frequently). [3]
At the 2007 All-Star game, Pippen temporarily returned to the basketball spotlight as a participant in the Haier Shooting Stars competition. Although his squad was disqualified due to an infraction committed during his two teammates' respective turns, Pippen did make his three point shot and a half court shot. Pippen had announced that the Miami Heat would be his preferred place to play. Other teams that were speculated to have interest in signing him were Cleveland, San Antonio, and the Los Angeles Lakers. In a March 2007 article in Mercury News, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson says he had talked with Pippen, "but it was just preliminary talk about how he's doing, where he's at and how he feels. I would say he kind of talked about the parameters of what he thinks he can do to help." Jackson said. [6] By the end of the season, however, Pippen went unsigned by any team.
On December 11, 2007 Pippen's long waited contract with Torpan Pojat of Finnish Korisliiga was finally announced sealing negotiations that had started around May of 2006 [7]. He played on January 4 against Porvoon Tarmo scoring 12 points and 7 rebounds [8] and will play on January 5 against Honka[9].
On November 27, 2007, it was announced that Pippen will play one game for the Sundsvall Dragons of the Swedish basketball league, against Akropol BBK on January 11, 2008.[10]
On January 3rd, 2008, Pippen announced that he would be interested in the vacant coaching position left after the firing of Scott Skiles by Bulls general manager John Paxson. "What's my disadvantage?" Pippen asked. "No NBA coaching experience? [Scott] Skiles' record with the Bulls wasn't that great. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do what you've done your whole life. I've played basketball, run teams and won. "They didn't put me at point guard because I could dribble good. They put me there because I could run a team. I wasn't the best dribbler, the best shooter. I wasn't a point guard. But I knew how to run a team." [11]
[edit] Achievements and records
Holds NBA Records for:
- Assists by a forward, career (6135)[12]
- Steals by a forward, career (2307)[13]
- Steals, Playoffs, career (395)[14]
- Three point field goals made, NBA Finals, game (7, shared with Kenny Smith)
- One of three players in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocks, season (1989-90 season)
- Michael Jordan performed the feat back-to-back in 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons
- Hakeem Olajuwon in 1988-89 season
- Half of only the 10th tandem in NBA history to score 40 points in the same game
- Pippen scored 40 points and Michael Jordan scored 44 points against the Indiana Pacers on February 18, 1996
- Half of only the 9th tandem in NBA history to record triple doubles in the same game
- with Michael Jordan
Achievements:
- Pippen recorded 20 career triple-doubles.[15]
- Led NBA in Steals (232) and Steals Per Game (2.9) in 1994-95 season.
- Chicago Bulls Career Leader in Three-Point Field Goals Made (664), Three-Point Field Goals Attempted (2,031) and Personal Fouls (2,534).
- His 10 NBA All-Defensive honors is one shy of the record, and his 8 NBA All-Defensive First Team honors is also one shy of the record.
[edit] Personal life
Pippen has three children and is married to Assyrian-American Larsa Younan and lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pippen has reportedly received $289,000 in farm subsidies.[16]
Service personnel have singled Pippen out as a relatively poor tipper. A 1997 article in Sports Illustrated named him one of the three biggest "skinflints" in the NBA, along with Kevin Garnett and Shawn Kemp, and noted that restaurant workers at one eatery had given him the nickname "No Tippin' Pippen".[17]
On March 13, 2007, Pippen was stopped by Arkansas State Police on Interstate 430 just north of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. While ticketing Pippen for speeding the trooper involved detected an odor of marijuana. When questioned Pippen admitted that marijuana was in the center console of the truck cab but claimed that marijuana was not his. Pippen's 56 year-old brother, Billy Clyde Pippen, was in the truck and told the officer that the marijuana belonged to him. Billy Pippen was taken into custody, transported to the Jefferson County Jail and charged with one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance. [18]
Pippen is an avid poker player and frequently participated in high-stakes games with teammates Jordan and Ron Harper when the Bulls were on the road.
[edit] References
- ^ nba.com/history, Scottie Pippen, accessed February 13, 2007
- ^ si.cnn.com, SI Covers Search, accessed January 29, 2007 Note: enter Scottie Pippen in the SI Covers Search box
- ^ sportsillustrated.cnn.com, Pippen arrested on suspicion of DWI, Associated Press, published April 22, 1999, accessed September 21, 2006.
- ^ espn.com, Pippen says he wants to play for contender, accessed February 16, 2007
- ^ Chicago Sun-Times,Financial woes not finished for Pippen accessed April 27, 2007
- ^ [mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/basketball/nba/golden_state_warriors/16836656.htm Lakers' Jackson Talking With Scottie Pippen For A Possible Comeback]
- ^ topo.fi ToPo neuvottelee Pippen-Rodman parivaljakon kanssa
- ^ http://213.197.180.56/fba/index.php/b19sYW5nPWVuJm9fc2Vhcz04Jm9fbGVhZz01JmZ1c2VhY3Rpb249cGxheWVycy5tYWluJnQ9NDcmcD0yMTgw
- ^ topo.fi Pippen pelaa ToPo-paidassa 4.1. ja 5.1.2008
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Career assist leaders — forwards databasebasketball.com, accessed April 15, 2007.
- ^ Career steal leaders — forwards databasebasketball.com, accessed April 15, 2007.
- ^ nba.com/history, All-Time Playoffs Individual Career Leaders, accessed February 15, 2007
- ^ nba.com, Scottie Pippen page, accessed February 15, 2007
- ^ http://www.wlbz2.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=63283
- ^ Phil Taylor, "Hot (and Cold) Tippers", Sports Illustrated, November 5, 1997, accessed April 8, 2006.
- ^ http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0307/405276.html
[edit] External links
- NBA.com Profile - Scottie Pippen
- ESPN "Bulls retire Pippen's no. 33"
- ESPN Scottie Pippen player profile
- ClutchFans.net Profile - Houston Rocket
Image:Med 1.png 1992 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball– "Dream Team" Image:Med 1.png |
|---|
| Charles Barkley | Larry Bird | Clyde Drexler | Patrick Ewing | Magic Johnson | Michael Jordan | Christian Laettner | Karl Malone | Chris Mullin | Scottie Pippen | David Robinson | John Stockton | Coach: Chuck Daly |
Image:Med 1.png 1996 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball – United States Image:Med 1.png |
|---|
| Charles Barkley | Penny Hardaway | Grant Hill | Karl Malone | Reggie Miller | Hakeem Olajuwon | Shaquille O'Neal | Gary Payton | Scottie Pippen | Mitch Richmond | David Robinson | John Stockton | Coach: Lenny Wilkens |
Chicago Bulls 1990-91 NBA Champions |
|---|
2 Hopson | 5 Paxson | 10 Armstrong | 14 Hodges | 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) | 24 Cartwright | 32 Perdue | 33 Pippen | 34 King | 42 Williams | 53 Levingston | 54 Grant | Coach Jackson |
Chicago Bulls 1991-92 NBA Champions |
|---|
5 Paxson | 10 Armstrong | 14 Hodges | 20 Hansen | 21 King | 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) | 24 Cartwright | 32 Perdue | 33 Pippen | 42 Williams | 53 Levingston | 54 Grant | Coach Jackson |
Chicago Bulls 1992-93 NBA Champions |
|---|
Chicago Bulls 1995-96 NBA Champions |
|---|
Chicago Bulls 1996-97 NBA Champions |
|---|
Chicago Bulls 1997-98 NBA Champions |
|---|
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Pippen, Scottie Maurice |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Professional basketball player and commentator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 25, 1965 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamburg, Arkansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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Categories: 1965 births | African American sportspeople | American basketball players | Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics | Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics | Chicago Bulls players | Houston Rockets players | Los Angeles Lakers players | Living people | National Basketball Association broadcasters | United States men's national basketball team members | Olympic basketball players of the United States | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | People from Arkansas | Portland Trail Blazers players | Small forwards
