What year did Pippen become

[Bush4Ever.]

If Joker wins a title this season, he will be on a superior pace to Michael Jordan at the same age.

Same ring count, but with worse supporting talent
At least one and possibly two higher PER seasons (statistics)
Not on the verge of retirement due to mental boo-boos.

lol

[Y2K]

Pip cemented HOF status at the conclusion of the Bulls dynasty in 1998. Maybe he gets in some 10+ years later without the 2nd 3peat but it definitely isn't a foregone conclusion.

Pre 1995-96:

5x all-star
3 NBA Championships
4x All-NBA (2 First-Team)
5x All-Defense (4 First-Team)
1 All-Star Game MVP

Add to that 18/7/5/49% career numbers (20/8/6/49% as a full-time starter circa 90-95), in addition to being regarded as one of THE greatest Defensive (and all-around) players to ever play the game made Pippen a HOF lock before the second 3-Peat... IMO anyway.

This line of thinking wasn't really agreed upon on a consensus level by those around the game. It was the 1995-96 season when Pip started defending the opponents best player more so than MJ where people began to say: Pippen just might be a better defensive player than MJ. And Pippen should have won the DPOY award that season. By the end of the 1997-98 year, we all knew that Pip was indeed the better defender and that put him at the top of the mountain in terms of perimeter defenders.

For me personally, I think Pippen needed the 3 years of longevity and success that the 2nd 3peat brought because his window of success without MJ was so small that we didn't get to see him thrive in a bigger role. And he'd only played 8 seasons prior to the 2nd 3peat.

[thedangerouskitchen]

If Pippen's success was 100 percent due to Jordan, then removing Jordan (like in 1994) should remove all his success.

Jordan wasn't 100% responsible because Pippen had the talent BUT it was Jordan's leadership, toughness, and 'big brother' mentoring that made it possible for Pippen to develop his potential into a Top 30 talent... unless you believe Scottie becomes that same player (or even better) had he remained in Seattle and was mentored by Xavier McDaniel.



Also Scottie had already developed that talent/experience as a player by the time 1994 rolled around, thanks to MJ.

Factoid.

[thedangerouskitchen]

Pip cemented HOF status at the conclusion of the Bulls dynasty in 1998. Maybe he gets in some 10+ years later without the 2nd 3peat but it definitely isn't a foregone conclusion.

Pre 1995-96:

5x all-star
3 NBA Championships
4x All-NBA (2 First-Team)
5x All-Defense (4 First-Team)
1 All-Star Game MVP

Add to that 18/7/5/49% career numbers (20/8/6/49% as a full-time starter circa 90-95), in addition to being regarded as one of THE greatest Defensive (and all-around) players to ever play the game made Pippen a HOF lock before the second 3-Peat... IMO anyway.

This line of thinking wasn't really agreed upon on a consensus level by those around the game. It was the 1995-96 season when Pip started defending the opponents best player more so than MJ where people began to say: Pippen just might be a better defensive player than MJ. And Pippen should have won the DPOY award that season. By the end of the 1997-98 year, we all knew that Pip was indeed the better defender and that put him at the top of the mountain in terms of perimeter defenders.

For me personally, I think Pippen needed the 3 years of longevity and success that the 2nd 3peat brought because his window of success without MJ was so small that we didn't get to see him thrive in a bigger role. And he'd only played 8 seasons prior to the 2nd 3peat.

I would disagree... Pippen first received MAJOR Defensive props around NBA circles after his great Defense on Magic in the 91 Finals. Given it was Magic, that series put Scottie on the elite Defender map.

Also Pip was was taller and longer than MJ, so that gave him a little more versatility as a defender... but "better"? I don't know that I can say that. Don't forget, Jordan was the guy carrying the Scoring load 90% of the time, so as he got older it just made sense to put a little more of the Defensive burden on Pip's shoulders. But that wasn't because Jordan was no longer capable, just that the Bulls needed his Scoring prowess more so than they needed his Defense (on a team with standout defenders like Pip, Harp, Rodman, Brown, etc).