If not for a stunning growth spurt, he likely would have stayed anonymous. Pippen has been in the national limelight for 26 years, and it seems as if we hardly know him any better than when he first burst on the scene in the 1987 Draft. It’s hard to reconcile reports of this Pippen-posh, violent and impetuous-with accounts of the shy boy from rural Arkansas who toiled in obscurity for years. The other person suffered head injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released. On Sunday, he was involved in a figh t outside a sushi restaurant in Malibu. At least three times early in his career, Pippen was cited in police reports for domestic abuse. But, like his running mate Michael Jordan, Pippen has left a complex legacy as a great player on the court with questionable behavior off of it. Within seven years, the would-be factory manager was churning out the first of six world Championships, seven All-NBA selections and 10 All-Defensive Team selections. After two summers of welding work in furniture plants that left him burn marks on his arms, Pippen decided basketball held more promise than he’d originally assumed. He majored in industrial education, assuming his future was in factory management. The first-ballot Hall of Famer entered college not on an athletic scholarship but with a grant to work as the basketball team’s manager. Of all stories in which a player swings from utter anonymity to eventual superstardom, the most celebrated belongs to Scottie Pippen.
Fast forward a few years: Rodman’s a borderline star and vital contributor to the Pistons’ first two titles. In 1986, Detroit gambled on NAIA star Dennis Rodman, who never got on to the floor as a high schooler and at age 22 appeared to have washed out of competitive basketball altogether.
#SCOTTIE PIPPEN WINGSPAN PRO#
In his second pro season, he led the SuperSonics to a Championship. In 1976, Seattle snagged Dennis Johnson, who in high school wasn’t even good enough to play more than a few minutes a game. It’s the franchises which identify, plot for and get the latter that in the long run separate themselves from the pack. More rare, even, than the sure-thing prospect-from a school seen nightly on SportsCenter-who as a rookie LeBronizes the League every decade or so.Īny franchise can snag the latter on NBA Draft Night with the dumb luck of a lottery ball bounce. Increasingly rare and precious indeed is the not-sure-thing player, from the not-sure-where-that-is school, who turns out to be the missing piece in your favorite team’s championship puzzle.
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