Gary Payton Breaks Down Scottie Pippen’s LeBron James Like Influence on Michael Jordan’s Bulls

The NBA community has always considered LeBron James as an all-around player. Fluent in passing, scoring, rebounding, and playing defense, the ‘King’ knows what it takes to win games and championships. In fact, he has even made it to the finals 10 times and has won 4 rings. LeBron has always been the player to make those crucial plays to help his team win.

Look at Game 7 of the 2016 finals, for example. James’ chase-down block on Andre Iguodala took the world by storm. That block was heavily important for the Cavs as it kept the game tied at 89 points and prevented the Warriors from gaining an edge.

Just like LeBron, even Scottie Pippen was an all-around player on the Chicago Bulls team that won 6 championships. As an integral member of the trio that consisted of Jordan, Rodman, and himself, Pippen would make the crucial plays, while Jordan would be the scorer who would close out the game. So it’s easy enough to say that Pippen was a big reason behind the Bulls’ success. After all, it was only after Pippen’s arrival that the Bulls won their first title. This influence of Pippen on the Bulls was explained by NBA legend, Gary Payton, in a recent interview.

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The Scottie Pippen Effect

In an interview with ‘VLAD TV’, Gary Payton explained how Pippen’s all-around play was important for the Chicago Bulls.

“As an all-around basketball player that could change a game, Scottie Pippen was that guy because he can guard everybody, he can score, he’ll do everything, he’ll make a big assist, he’ll make the big block, he’ll do things like that,” said Payton.

“Michael was just a guy who would score it and make the big shots and make the big things,” added Payton.

Thereafter, Payton explained that comparing MJ to LeBron did not make sense because LeBron was ” a better all-around player.” This all-around play is what Pippen and LeBron had in common. It is also an important reason behind the Bulls’ success as Pippen would perform the crucial acts required to win games.

Comparing LeBron James and Scottie Pippen

As mentioned earlier, both LeBron and Pippen possess an all-around game. Their effect is felt during every play on the court, be it on offense or on defense. However, the difference arises in the case of scoring and the number of titles won. While Scottie has 6 titles to his name, LeBron has only 4. But where the ‘King’ has the upper hand is in his scoring and passing.

Despite this, the roles of both players are similar in the sense that they take up important responsibilities from every domain – scoring, passing, rebounding, and defense. It is evident that their all-around play has brought plenty of success in their respective careers.

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