"Pippen was the best player in the world in 93, 94, 95" - Dennis Rodman

[Axe]

#2 is just asinine . I don't care how good Pippen was defensively, he's nowhere near top 5 for that era with how mediocre his offensive impact actually was.

Ppg numbahs again? Goddamn...

[ImKobe]

Pippen got more votes than Malone. And he was healthy. Most people felt Malone was better than Barkley.

You guys are incredible. In this very thread. Roundball Rock showed articles saying Pippen was the front runner for MVP before HE GOT HURT IN 96. But that doesn't matter. Only Barkelys and Shaqs and Penny's injuries matter. Lol. Hell Jordan is now so great, he doesnt even have to play in the league and he still gets a top 5 ranking!!! This is insane.

How can a guy that you feel ithe guy that is less talented be held to a higher standard than the guys you feel are more talented? Shouldnt that be the other way around?

Barkley was better at his peak but Malone's longevity can't be denied. Chuck was better in '93 though.

Pippen was not a front runner for MVP, please stop it . You're going off the deep end here.

Pippen was not a top 5 player of the 90s, he was not a top 3 player in '94 nor '95, you can't just base that off a couple articles or some nit-picked advanced stats or All-NBA/MVP votes. MVP doesn't = best player to begin with, and you can't overlook the unique circumstances in those years, you also can't overlook Pippen's Playoff production. Chris Paul is likely going to finish top 5 in MVP voting this season, does ANYONE here think he's even top 10 in the league right now? Was Steve Nash even a top 3 player when he won his MVPs in 2005 and 2006? Was Dirk the best player in the league in 2007?

Ppg numbahs again? Goddamn...

Not just ppg, scoring efficiency too... Pippen does not stack up well AT ALL, look at all the mediocre Playoff runs he's had with the GOAT on his side.

[97 bulls]

Barkley was better at his peak but Malone's longevity can't be denied. Chuck was better in '93 though.

Pippen was not a front runner for MVP, please stop it . You're going off the deep end here.

Pippen was not a top 5 player of the 90s, he was not a top 3 player in '94 nor '95, you can't just base that off a couple articles or some nit-picked advanced stats or All-NBA/MVP votes. MVP doesn't = best player to begin with, and you can't overlook the unique circumstances in those years, you also can't overlook Pippen's Playoff production. Chris Paul is likely going to finish top 5 in MVP voting this season, does ANYONE here think he's even top 10 in the league right now? Was Steve Nash even a top 3 player when he won his MVPs in 2005 and 2006? Was Dirk the best player in the league in 2007?



Not just ppg, scoring efficiency too... Pippen does not stack up well AT ALL, look at all the mediocre Playoff runs he's had with the GOAT on his side.

I think you guys are caught up in emotion. Were talking about 3 years here. 94, 95, and 96. The whole of the seasons. Not just 6-7 games.

[mehyaM24]

mehya is right, if you're a GM and you have a choice, Pippen definitely isn't your #2 pick. Who would honestly take Pippen over peak David Robinson?

Pippen won MVP votes? Well, David Robinson won an MVP award..... in one of the very years that's being argued here - 1995.

no gm with any sense would lol. add shaq, hakeem, malone & barkley into the pot. truth is you can find a number of quotes talking up drob, especially in 95. he was the mvp so naturally fans associate that with "the best". ditto with playoff hakeem & shaq. like you also mentioned, barkley missed a quarter of the season however still put up superior numbers, impact & playoff production.

idk. from my vantage point the debate is loaded with revisionism. no point arguing opinion vs facts.

[Phoenix]

I do remember a Pip for MVP buzz in 96 before he got injured. I don't recall if it was a huge national discussion about it, but I do recall either a few articles about it or it got mentioned by broadcasters during some nationally televised Bulls game. How much of a thing I can't recall, this shit is 25 years old. But I do recall even MJ( by no means short on ego) himself pushing a Pippen4MVP thing at one point. It was a conversation that lost steam once Scottie got injured, but I do know he was damn good up to that point.

[97 bulls]

I do remember a Pip for MVP buzz in 96 before he got injured. I don't recall if it was a huge national discussion about it, but I do recall either a few articles about it or it got mentioned by broadcasters during some nationally televised Bulls game. How much of a thing I can't recall, this shit is 25 years old. But I do recall even MJ( by no means short on ego) himself pushing a Pippen4MVP thing at one point. It was a conversation that lost steam once Scottie got injured, but I do know he was damn good up to that point.

That's the funny thing. Every players gets a pass due to injury but Pippen. I cant quite figure out where all this vitriol for Pippen is coming from. I mean why does everybody get a pass for being injured but Pippen?

[Phoenix]

That's the funny thing. Every players gets a pass due to injury but Pippen. I cant quite figure out where all this vitriol for Pippen is coming from. I mean why does everybody get a pass for being injured but Pippen?

It's mostly coming from one compulsive MJ nut who can't seem to let MJs greatness stand on it's own merits without bashing his teammates, notably Scottie. The sad outcome is, at least on this poor excuse for a basketball discussion board, Pip has become a lighting rod between the MJ and Bron stan camps.

[2much_knowledge]

Lebrons never played for a team that was even capable of winning 35 games without him

Levels to this GOAT shit my man.

Newsflash, healthy Wade took the Heat to the 2nd round, game 7 without lebron or Bosh..... 2016

[RogueBorg]

I do remember a Pip for MVP buzz in 96 before he got injured. I don't recall if it was a huge national discussion about it, but I do recall either a few articles about it or it got mentioned by broadcasters during some nationally televised Bulls game. How much of a thing I can't recall, this shit is 25 years old. But I do recall even MJ( by no means short on ego) himself pushing a Pippen4MVP thing at one point. It was a conversation that lost steam once Scottie got injured, but I do know he was damn good up to that point.

There's never a moment in 1995-'96 season were Pippen was remotely close to being considered for MVP. Not the beginning, not the middle, and certainly not the end.

[2much_knowledge]

A Pippen stan. What do you know... lol

Now i have seen everything

[RogueBorg]

That's the funny thing. Every players gets a pass due to injury but Pippen. I cant quite figure out where all this vitriol for Pippen is coming from. I mean why does everybody get a pass for being injured but Pippen?

Pippen wasn't injured during the the '95-'96 season.

[Phoenix]

There's never a moment in 1995-'96 season were Pippen was remotely close to being considered for MVP. Not the beginning, not the middle, and certainly not the end.

I never said it was a serious discussion, only that I recall it being part of the vernacular in the first half of the season. It may have been jumpstarted by MJ himself campaigning for it, but It was out there. Like there were whispers early in the year that Penny was the best player before Shaq returned. I recall those comments being made during games at times. It's not something I'm conjuring up out of thin air. Again, in retrospect it may seem silly but I'm not speaking about things that weren't discussed at the time, even if only casually.

[97 bulls]

Pippen wasn't injured during the the '95-'96 season.

Sure he was

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chi...story,amp.html

Pippen just played through the injuries. Most people that watched the Bulls saw how those injuries effected him toward the last 1/3 of the season.

[97 bulls]

Heres another link where Pippen said he was banged up the last 4 months of the 95-96 season.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.spo...mp-content=amp

[Phoenix]

Scottie through Jan 30th 96( 42 games) was doing 22/7/6, 50% from the field, 44% from 3. He ended up doing 19/6/5 46%/37%. There was a second half drop off precipitated by nagging injuries. If he was healthy enough in the playoffs as he was in the first half of the year the Bulls would have probably swept the playoffs.