The Story of Scottie Pippen
Chapter 1. The most versatile player in history
In the 50-year history of the NBA, there have been countless Outstanding player. And can be called "the most versatile player in the history of the NBA." I believe it is the well-recognized current player ----- Scottie Pippen.
This outstanding achievement is all because he devoted himself to developing his basketball career wholeheartedly when he started his basketball career. He came from a rough background, from his early years when he signed an agreement with Central Arkansas, a small NAIA school, to serve as the team manager as a rookie in exchange for financial assistance, to his unparalleled comprehensive contribution in helping the Bulls become the greatest team in history. Go all out to achieve success.
Taking the 1994-95 season as an example, it was the season after Michael Jordan announced his retirement (late comeback) to our surprise. His performance in terms of points, rebounds, assists, steals and playing time In terms of performance, they all dominate the Bulls, becoming the first player in seventeen years to lead his team in all major statistical records. Then in 1995-96, Jordan made a comeback and Pippen resumed his original role in helping the Bulls win three consecutive NBA honors. As the Bulls thundered to set the best regular season record in NBA history and win four championships in six years, Pippen also made it to the NBA All-Star Game for the sixth time and was selected to the All-Defensive First Team five times. First Team) player and win his second Olympic gold medal in Atlanta.
The 6-foot-7 Pippen was one of the most versatile and intelligent players in basketball. Not only can he make wonderful passes like a point guard, he can also grab rebounds like a power forward, and he has the ability of a shooting guard to score frequently. He also has lightning speed and amazing jumping ability. He was even named one of the NBA's best defensive players.
Jordan praised: "This is Pippen's game--comprehensive. He is definitely the most outstanding all-around player on our team. He is more confident than I have ever known him. , mature and stable. In my mind, even if he is not the best player in the NBA, he is still one of the best." Not only Jordan said this, but many people and players who love and understand basketball have the same opinion. Pippen is well-deserved to be selected as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.
For an unknown boy who did not even get a scholarship to a university after finishing high school, it is extremely rare to achieve all the above achievements. Of course, Pippen was only 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 145 pounds at the time. Growing up in Hambury, Arkansas, a suburban town of 3,400 people, the youngest of 12 children, there were signs that he would be a future basketball star. In fact, Pippen was planning to leave the high school team when he was in Class 10. At that time, his father Preston faced a heavy blow; one day, when Preston came home from the paper mill where he worked, he suddenly suffered a stroke and fell to the ground. As a result, he was forced to use a wheelchair to spend his days. He never had the opportunity to see it with his own eyes. His son played basketball until they received a tape of Pippen's first game with the Bulls.
Chapter 2. Entering the NBA for the first time
How did his father react?
Pippen said emotionally: "The stroke even took away his voice, but my mother told me that he burst into tears."
Although Pippen acted as a After becoming the manager of the American football team, he rejoined his high school basketball team, but when he graduated, no college offered him a scholarship to play basketball. Donald Wayne, Pippen's high school team coach, said: "He is only 6 feet 1 inches tall and weighs 145 pounds. He has no special skills or outstanding qualities. Others often even ask me, 'Why did you hire him?' ”
It seemed that Pippen’s chances of entering college were slim, until Wayne negotiated an agreement with Don Dyer, the coach of the Central Arkansas University basketball team: Pippen would enter the university as the basketball team manager (the task is to handle the daily life of the team). All duties, including: officiating, cleaning the court and preparing player meals, etc.), and is eligible to receive a bursary to help with his expenses. Pippen said he was often "abandoned" in private selection rounds among some players, only to become a regular choice after two players left.
After completing his first year in college, Pippen has become the most outstanding player on the team. In his second year, his height soared to 6 feet 5 inches, his weight also increased, and he averaged 20 points per game. However, despite his rapid progress, he still does not receive much appreciation. In the end, things finally became clear. With Pippen's outstanding performance in his final year of college: averaging 23.6 points and 10 rebounds per game, he began to attract the attention of many NBA scouts.
At that time, Marty Blake, the NBA's scouting director, began to pay attention to Pippen's potential, and Jerry Krause, the Bulls' general manager (who specialized in discovering overlooked emerging stars such as Charles Oakley in previous years), was even more interested in Pippen. Discerning. The Bulls predicted that he would be one of the first players selected in the second round of the rookie selection, so Jerry Krause was very confident that the Bulls would be the first to pick Pippen in the first round. Little did Krause know that this thought would give him nightmares. In the spring of 1987, Pippen shone brightly in various pre-selection camps, making people sit up and take notice.
In an instant, everyone in the NBA focused their attention on Pippen. Everyone was interested in getting to know this young man with long arms and big hands. He immediately became the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year selection. The hottest new talent. But Krause would never let others take away his prize. In order to ensure his chances of winning, he negotiated an insider trade with Seattle the night before the selection: If Reggie Williams and Armon Gillam were already selected, Seattle would use them. Pippen was selected with the fifth pick, and then traded for center Olden Polynice, whom Chicago selected with the eighth pick, in exchange for Chicago's second-round pick and a first-round pick in 1988 or 1989.
Since joining Chicago, Pippen has been eager to become a pivotal figure in the Bulls and push them to a higher level than the Jordan era. In the first few days of Bulls practice, he had already made a deep impression: He insisted on guarding Jordan again and again (Pippen joked: "The tricks he used against other people can't be used on me." ”). He had back surgery as a rookie and bounced back from disappointment. Entering his second season, he has become the first choice and has gradually shown his versatility, often recording triple-doubles, thereby consolidating his superstar status. In 1988-1989, he averaged 14.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
After the first contract was completed, Pippen saved enough money to buy a new house so that his parents could live a more comfortable life. "A tree wants to be still but the wind never stops, a son wants to be raised but his parents are not there." Pippen's father passed away a few months after moving into the new house, when the Bulls faced the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1990 playoffs.
Chapter 3. Pippen’s Ability
This time it is Pippen’s turn to cry
Pippen has a strong jumping ability, which enables him to be a big player leap in front of players and shoot the ball. He can also grab rebounds, take the ball downcourt alone and create nice assists, or sink the ball into the basket or jump shots. However, Pippen's many talents remained untapped until Bulls coach Phil Jackson took charge in the 1989 season, allowing the 6-foot-7 forward to do more in all areas. Contribution, Pippen's talent has the opportunity to be fully revealed.
Former Pistons and Fantasy head coach Chuck Daly pointed out that Pippen is the Bulls' offensive mastermind or "point forward." dr.j nicknamed Pippen "the unpredictable player" and "one of the rare all-around players in the NBA." Because the Bulls adopted a full-court pressure defense and used Pippen and Jordan as the vanguard to use a fierce defensive style, Phil Jackson praised the two of them as "our brave, snarling and roaring Dubrovnik" bulldog". Game 2 of the 1990 NBA Finals produced a huge change in Pippen's life. All because Jackson sent him to look after Magic Johnson, also known as "Magic Johnson". After that, the Bulls never lost another game in that series, and Pippen eventually won his first NBA championship and became one of the NBA superstars.
There is no doubt that Pippen is the best all-around athlete in the NBA. The question is how many people know this fact? Compared with other types of professional athletes, his career can be regarded as the most difficult. He has to endure harsher reviews and nitpicking criticism than any other player in the NBA. In the early stages of growth and learning, he suffered much ridicule and countless doubts about his sincerity. Especially minutes after the start of Game 7 of the 1989 East Coast Finals, Pippen was hit in the head by Pistons center Bill Laimbeer's hand, causing a migraine that seriously affected his performance that night. This was the lowest point in his career. Since then, criticism has been endless, and public opinion even questioned whether he really had migraines, which led to his poor performance of only scoring one goal out of ten.
Then, before the start of the 1993-94 season, that is, after the Bulls won the NBA championship for three consecutive years, a bolt from the blue, to everyone’s surprise, Michael Jordan suddenly announced the cancellation of his " Trapeze" performed and concluded one of the most compelling demonstrations of superheroism in NBA history. Pippen, 29, immediately became a mainstay in Chicago.
He never cared about honors and stood silently in a corner. He took over the prospect of Jordan's retirement and was asked to replace the "God of Basketball" on the court without any psychological preparation and continue the Bulls' brilliant achievements. In the difficult situation of being alone and helpless, he finally completed the task and lived up to expectations.
Pippen led the Bulls to win just one less game than Jordan did in the regular season that year, and was able to lead the team to the semi-finals of the East Coast playoffs. Until he was kicked out by the powerful New Yorkers. At that time, did anyone think that they could win as many as 50 games? Pippen won the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award (mvp) and almost became the most valuable player of the year. That's when he became the new superhero.
Chapter 4. Pippen without Jordan
Pippen survived under psychological pressure!!!
12 teammates, including coach Jackson, became Thousands of angry fans. Pippen was relegated to the cold palace, which seemed to make him immortal. In fact, we can understand his situation and mood at the time: Pippen was considered the soul of the team, and he single-handedly led the Bulls to where they are today, but the last shot in the crucial playoff game was missed by the ball. The team gave up and looked for another candidate, which was only in name only. When his self-esteem was hurt, he couldn't bear it and gave up. There is no denying that Kukoc is a good player, but Pippen's outstanding performance throughout the season proves that he is more sure and capable of leading the team to achieve the predetermined goals. But the coach wants him to be a puppet, a puppet! (Coach, try asking Jordan to be the one to take the throw-in next time! See how he reacts!)
Recalling the situation at the time, Pippen said: "To a certain extent, I regret it. , because this impulse brought such negative effects as snowflakes, it was also an opportunity to learn. I learned how to face the ups and downs of life and not allow anything to make me emotionally unstable. I completely lost control for 1.8 seconds."
When Jordan returned to the team at the end of the 1994-95 regular season, Pippen finally regained his self-control. But who would have expected that the Jordan at that time was no longer the Jordan that Pippen and other Bulls players were familiar with and used to working with. His movements were stiff as iron, and he no longer had the demeanor that dominated the entire game. The Bulls need stronger strength to challenge the Orlando Magic, which has O'Neal, Shatway and Grant. The Bulls ultimately fell short in Game 6 of the East Coast semifinals, leading by 8 points in the final 45 seconds of this decisive game. As usual, when the Bulls win, the flashlights are focused on Jordan; but when the Bulls lose, the responsibility inevitably shifts from Jordan to Pippen. "I think our loss and Jordan's inaccuracy made me a victim and responsible for the loss of thousands of viewers. When we were behind in a game, people looked to me to take Jordan's place and pick himself up and turn the tide. ." Pippen said with emotion.
After the 1994 playoffs, there was a negotiation to trade Pippen to the Seattle SuperSonics. In the end, the trade of Pippen for Shawn Kemp fell through, and Pippen is still a part of the Bulls. Then the good news came out that Jordan, who had regained his authority on the basketball court, said that if the Bulls still retained Pippen and Jackson, he would wear the jersey for the Bulls for another three years.