Dennis Rodman was the wingman to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen for three of their six NBA championships for the Chicago Bulls. With Pippen and Jordan not on the best terms, Rodman often becomes the one to answer questions about them.
In a recent interview, The Worm was asked if Scottie Pippen was more skilled than Michael Jordan. And while he didn't answer directly, he had some interesting stuff to say.
"That's tough man, cuz you know what, I said it earlier in the interview, 'Thank God Michael Jordan got Scottie Pippen.' You know, cuz Michael couldn't do it by himself. Michael could score 40 points a game and Scottie came and just filled in a blank. This made him like a major, major superstar."
He later added, "I just think Scottie Pippen is probably one of the innovators of the power forward point guard. Because he's 6'9"... His game was polished. He was good and I think if Scottie played today, he's probably average a triple-double."
Michael Jordan hadn't gone far in the playoffs with the Chicago Bulls before Scottie Pippen truly arrived on the scene, this goes without saying. And maybe MJ wouldn't have won six championships if it weren't for him. But even then, as Rodman's silence on the question suggests, it would be tough to say that Pippen was more skilled than Jordan was.
Scottie Pippen recently claimed that Michael Jordan was a bad player before they teamed up, so he's seemingly started to believe this narrative too. But while Michael Jordan might not have had the same success without Scottie Pippen, it's safe to say that the Bulls might have been ringless in the 90s if they didn't have Michael Jordan either.
The whole thing wouldn't even be a debate if not for something John Salley said. He was on the Bulls for a year in 1996, winning a championship with MJ and Pippen. And he was the one that started this discussion by saying Scottie was more skilled.
"Pippen, I used to say was the most skilled player I've ever played with. Because his arms come to here, he could dribble it, shoot it. He had unbelievable basketball IQ. Everybody thought I was saying he was better than Michael Jordan. No. It's what Michael needed. Michael needs a lot because it's one basketball."
Looking at it objectively, Scottie Pippen was arguably better at certain aspects of the game. But the NBA has never seen a scorer like Michael Jordan, either. Only a few people would say that Pippen was more skilled than the GOAT himself.
