Chicago Bulls All Time Starting Five Players

Scottie Pippen (1987-1997)

Scottie Pippen came into the league the same season as Horace Grant, and together the two provided support to what’s his name at shooting guard.

Pippen is known as the best sidekick in NBA history. He fit in well with the team structure, and the Bulls might not have won those six titles if Pippen was not there.

Pippen averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.1 steals per game while he wore a Bulls uniform. He also shot 48.1 percent from the field and 32.7 from three.

Basketball fans constantly compare LeBron James to Michael Jordan (yeah, that’s his name). The proper comparison should be to Pippen.

Pippen was an all-around great player. He could score with the best of them, dished out assists when needed, controlled an offense and could cover just about anyone in the league.

Let Pippen say it himself.

“I was LeBron James before LeBron James,” Pippen told Northeast Ohio Media Group. “It’s not even close.” “They want to compare him to the greatest, whether it be Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, but he’s more closer to myself. It’s natural for folks to say that, but if you look at how he plays the game and how I played the game, you’ll see more similarities with us.”

I am not saying Pippen is a better player than LeBron, but their games are similar. James just takes it a step higher.

The Bulls might not win the first championship against the Lakers if coach Phil Jackson did not remove Jordan from guarding Magic Johnson and put Pippen on him. The first couple of games were very close, with Johnson making all the right moves.

When Pippen was covering him, though, Magic could not move around as well, and could not find the open man as well. The Bulls took care of the Lakers in five games and cemented the beginning of a 90’s dynasty.

Next: Point Guard