Karl Malone would have opted for Scottie Pippen over Michael Jordan – NBA News
In a surprise statement, Karl Malone has said that he would have picked Scottie Pippen over Michael Jordan any day, if asked to make the call.
Malone, who is a former Utah Jazz member that met the Jordan and the Bulls on numerous occasions in the NBA Finals during the 90’s, said this is an interview on the Dan Patrick show on Wednesday. Jordan and Pippen were teammates
in the Bulls that won multiple championships in the 90’s.
“I would have to start my team with Scottie Pippen. This is why I would take Scottie: Do you remember the time that Michael retired? I watched Scottie Pippen when the Chicago Bulls weren’t really good and Scottie led that team
in every statistical category, and I just remembered that. Plus, he’s a guy who could care less about scoring. He wants to stop the best player on the other team. That would have been pretty cool, to see Scottie guarding Michael,” said Malone.
The rivalry between Malone and Jordan is well documented. Both players were at their prime in the same era, and both players led their teams to the NBA Finals on many occasions. However, Jordan led Chicago to victories over the
Jazz and won multiple NBA Championships, denying Malone a chance at glory. If it weren’t for Jordan, Malone would have more than 1 championship rings and would probably be remembered as an even greater player than he is remembered as now. Sharing the stage
with Jordan is not an easy task and Jordan’s magnificence overshadowed Malone for a long period of time.
Pippen was alongside Jordan in the Bulls team that won six NBA championships and is regarded as one of the best players in the history of the game. He was the main support of the team, and is well recognized for his excellence.
Jordan also overshadowed Pippen’s game, who was a lot better player than is given credit for. It was the combination of the two that made the Bulls such a dominating force for a long period of time.
Malone’s interview came in connection with the documentary that has been released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Dream Team the U.S put together for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. In those Olympics, the U.S.
team defeated all their opponents by an average margin of 44 points, and is regarded as the best team ever assembled in any sport.
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