Scottie Pippen was arguably one of the best two-way players in the NBA. But despite being one of the premier defensive players in the league's history, the 6-7 forward never won the Defensive Player of the Year award.
During an appearance on TrashTalkProduction , host Bastien Fontanieu told Pippen that the biggest injustice in the NBA was Scottie never winning the DPOY award. When Fontanieu suggested that the voters could have been drunk, Pip replied with a strange answer.
"I think they were too busy watching Michael," the legendary forward said.
Pippen didn't win when Mike wasn't there
Pippen taking a shot at Michael Jordan wasn't a surprise. After all, that interview happened in 2022. Feeling slighted by The Last Dance documentary, Scottie has said nothing good about his former Bulls teammate. However, blaming Mike for not winning one DPOY award may be one of his most ridiculous claims.
In their five seasons together, beginning in 1992, when Scottie earned the first of eight straight All-Defensive selections, Jordan finished higher in the DPOY voting only in 1993 and 1998, while Pippen received more votes than Mike in 1996 and 1997. Meanwhile, both were tied for third in 1992.
On the other hand, MJ wasn't around in 1994 and 1995, but Pippen finished fourth to Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994 and second to Dikembe Mutombo in 1995. Scottie was also runner-up in 1996, but he lost to Gary Payton. So, while there were seasons when the voters picked Mike over him, it wasn't as one-sided as he thought it was.
Shump agrees with Pip
However, while most would say Pippen's claim is ridiculous, Iman Shumpert agreed with him. Shump grew up as a huge Bulls fan, and according to him, Scottie was doing things on defense that nobody else did, and he was doing it every single time he was on the floor.
"I would say it's probably true," said Shumpert. "I don't know if none of y'all were super Bulls fans like I was, I don't remember anyone else being put in to do what he used to do. So many of his steals are all because of him. I feel like Pip was getting everything just like you dribbling, now you just can't move no more and then he could switch onto your center, like really guard him though... Pipp, you couldn't just jump-hook him, he'll go up there and block that. Couldn't say he didn't have a motor, wasn't like he was doing this a couple of games out of 82. This was all day, all night, whatever y'all need man."
Sure, Scottie was one of the best defenders in the NBA. But traditionally, the DPOY award is given to big men, with only eight perimeter players winning it since its inception. During Pip's 17 years in the league, only three non-bigs won it—Jordan in '88, Payton in '96, and Ron Artest in '04. So, instead of saying voters were busy looking at Mike, perhaps Scottie should've said they were busy looking at big men.
Related: "Michael was determined to prove he is still larger than life" - Pippen claims that Jordan used 'The Last Dance' to distance himself from LeBron
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