How Come Jordan Never Had A Winning Season Without Pippen?

Question

No this is NOT a MJ hating question. Im just curous to know.

I would never disrepect MJ like that

Was it because of Old-Age? or maybe because he didnt have talented players around him?

or what?

Answer 1

I know you are not hatin on MJ or anything but I hate this question people ask when they are hatin on him. No one and I mean no one can win alone, not even the best basketball players on the earth or the best basketball player to ever play the game. He needed a side kick just like Kobe and Shaq needed each other (equally), D-Wade and Shaq needed each other and Jordan needed Pippen. I mean great players may have winning seasons without help like Lebron took his team to the Finals (but couldn't win without help) and Kobe took his team to the Playoffs but you can't ever win a championship with out help.

Answer 2

It's purely coincidental. Like Kobe unable to win a playoff series without a Shaq or a Pau Gasol.

Answer 3

I would just like to point out that Bill Russell won 2 NCAA titles and one NBA ring without Sam Jones. He won two rings and one NCAA title without KC Jones (KC was ineligible to play in the USF's last Final Four). He won 2 NCAA titles and 5(?) rings without Havlicek. Even with Hall of Famers Havlicek, Jojo White, satch sanders and Bailey Howell on the team, the Celtics did not even made it into the Playoffs the first year after Russell's retirement.

Russell is the ONE CONSTANT in the Celtics dynasty, everybody else even coach Red Auerbach was REPLACEABLE.

Answer 4

dude MJ already had a winning season with the bulls even before pippen came..

and even with pippen sidelined with an injury the bulls still had a winning record..

duh!

Answer 5

I think it's because Jordan had such great team chemistry with him so as a result he didn't do so well with other guys.

Answer 6

HOW COME KOBE CANT WIN IT WITHOUT SHAQ

Answer 7

Hahah .. OK not having winning season and not been able to win Championship is not same thing ..

So don't be F-ing moron and say - oh you wanna talking about MJ not having winning season w/o Pippen  huh ? how about Kobe not been able to win Championship w/o Shaq .. ? it's sounds ridiculous

Yes .. Wow how come MJ didn't have winning season w/o Pippen ? Kobe at least had 3 winning seasons w/o Shaq .. and starting line up was like that - Kwame Brown , Smush Parker ..

King ( the guy below me ) - Let me remind you that it was Worthy's team not MJ's .. MJ failed to win as a Leader in NCAA ..

And why didn't they had 3 peat's ? it's simple .. Lack of competition and Lack of Great teams in 90's .. ..Tell me which team made it to Finals 3 times during MJ's run ? it's just shows that there was lack of good teams .. sure there was legends but teams was not good

Ok you might say MJ played against .. Utah .. Greatest duo ever .. yada yada .. but if they were that good how come they made it to Finals only 2 times in 18 years together ?

Answer 8

Depends on what kind of winning season you are asking. Jordan did have lousy teams before Scottie's (and Horace Grant's arrival). Before Chicago drafted Michael Jordan they only managed a 27-55 record even losing the play-offs 2 more seasons before that. Enter the 3rd pick Michael jordan and for the first time in years they make the play-offs winning 11 more games than the previous season. Remember made the play-offs.

In the play-offs they met the Milwaukee Bucks led by then two time defensive player of the year Sidney Moncrief, lost in the play-offs 3 games to 1. They would succumb two more years to Boston's Big Three before getting a steal in the draft in Scottie Pippen and adding another good post presence in Horace Grant, the Bulls is a center short of really contending for the championship crown. In 1988-89 Chicago did so by sending Oakley and their 1st round draft pick for Bill Cartwright. So in a sense Pippen arrived in a better surrounding than Michael was. Jordan arrived ina rebuilding mode Chicago Bulls club.

Remember in 1994-1995 The Bulls were in trouble of not making the play-offs since losing Horace Grant, their record stand at 34-31 if they didn't made the play-off it would have marked the first time the Bulls lost their play-off seat since 1985, Jordan's first play-off attendance. Thankfully Jordan came back and led the team in a furious 13-4 finish to close out the season an MAKE the play-offs.

Then again in Washington, Jordan would manage a 19-63 team in 2000-2001 NBA season, prompting him to give in to his "itch" and played and actually led the team to almost play-off appearances. They always were in contention some 15 games coming to the closing of the season before blowing those chances. He would led the team to identical 37-45 record finishes in 2002 and 2003.

The question now was what was Scottie did after his Chicago Bulls stint? Yes he did win more games because of the power house teams he played with but was he the same All-star leader those team expected when they signed him? The answer will always be "NO". In Houston he was often at a shouting match with Charles Barkley because "the Round Mound of Rebound" overshadowed him again, something he thrived in Chicago. In Portland, Scottie was a sixth man and wasn't even a threat to come-off the bench in their play-off runs he was merely a bench guy. Then again Scottie would go back to Chicago as bench reliever. Cutting his comeback stint because of his aching back before ultimately calling it quits. Jordan was always the Superstar, never did he succumed as second fiddle to anyone his ENTIRE career. Who's career was better now?

Hope this helps.

Answer 9

What up Lakers, Angels, Eagles,

Wow- that's a mind blowing stat.  i would say it's not just a Pippen thing- Jordan struggled early and the Bulls didn't have much of a team apart from him-- so adding Pippen (i think along with other key role players:  BJ Armstrong, Toni Kukoc, etc.) are all factors- not just Pippen.  

It shows how no matter how good you are- one guy can't carry an entire team for an entire season.

During his 2nd comeback- definitely because of old-age- but it's hard to criticize very many things in MJ's game.

Nickster

Answer 10

That question is really irrelevant because even without Pippen I do believe Jordan still made the playoffs every year, and when Pippen came...well, you know the rest of the story.

Answer 11

MJ made the game winning shot against Georgetown

and was a NCAA champ at 18...how come Pippen

never made it to the final four?

The real question is how much did the Bulls and

Wizards improve after MJ joined the team. I bet

they won more games didn't they?

Chicago had 2 3 peats, lakers and boston with

Magic and Bird never did that? why is that?

MJ > MAGIC > BIRD > Pippen.

Answer 12

Because Jordan was OVER-RATED!

Pippen was the REAL reason the Bulls won. Jordan just went along for the ride!

___________

Jordan: 5 LOSING seasons without Pippen

Jordan: 1-10 playoff record without Pippen

Jordan: MISSED playoffs TWICE without Pippen

Jordan - Pippen = Dominique Wilkins

LMAO!!!!

Answer 13

Just like any star.  Kobe never won until shaq came along.  bill russell never won until Sam Jones, John Havlichek, casey jones came along.  Paul Pierce needed ray allen and kg to get a ring.  Not enough talent is the key to all stars not getting a ring.  Lebron is having the same problem right now.

Oh sorry, i though you were talking about rings.  And kobe didn't do much his first 3 years in the league.  Jordan had 5 winning seasons with the bulls before pippen came.

Answer 14

Technically that's true, but the Bulls had a winning season (50-32) Pippen's first year (Jordan's 4th) when he averaged like 7 or 8 pts/gm.   MJ never had  a winning season w/o Pippen on the roster, but Pippen was mainly a role player at that point in his career.

Answer 15

It was because he did not have anybody else around him, he did not have good players, he was the only good player.

Answer 16

ask yourself, "what is a losing season":

1:losing season & not making the playoffs

2:winning season & making the playoffs & getting eliminated

what do you think is better?

regardless of how many times a team loses in the playoffs they are happy to be their, wouldn't you be happy to be in the playoffs instead of being at home!!!

michael jordan 1st 3 playoff appearances w/out pippen:

1984-85 first round-1 and 3 vs mil. bucks-eliminated

1985-86 first round-0 and 3 vs boston celtics-eliminated

1986-87 first round-0 and 3 vs boston celtics-eliminated

kobe without shaq his 1st 3 appearances in playoffs:

2004-05-losing season and no playoff appearance

2005-06-first round-3 and 4 vs pheonix suns-eliminated

2006-07-first round-1 and 4 vs pheonix suns-eliminated

now jordan was about 39-41 years of age when he played with the wizards, age/injury/they had some what of talent there but not good enough to make it were all factors of why he didn't make the playoffs without pippen:

pippen in 2001-02 blazers roster

rasheed wallace

damon stoudamire

bozi wells

shawn kemp

rueben patterson

derek anderson

steve kerr

zack randolph

chris dudley

erik barkley

and the year before that pippen still had a impressive roster in 2000-01

michael jordan wizards roster the same year as pippen with blazers:

richard hamilton

chris whitney

courtney alexander

tyronne lue

hubert davis

christian laettner

poppye jones

tyrone nesby

jahidi white

brendon haywood

kwame brown

etan jones

bobby simmons

that is why jordan has not had a winning season without pippen, pippen had a better roster