50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 6. Scottie Pippen
Scottie Pippen was a rising star when the 1990s dawned and the Chicago Bulls forward emerged as a clear No. 2 option in the new decade.
He was a seven-time All-Star for the Bulls, including being named MVP of the 1994 game, and was named to seven All-NBA teams and eight All-Defensive teams in the decade. Pippen was also third in the MVP voting in 1993-94 and fifth in 1995-96.
He led the NBA in steals (232) and steals per game (2.9) in 1994-95.
Pippen was also a key part of six championship teams in Chicago in the decade.
In a five-game victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals, Pippen averaged 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 2.4 steals and a block in 43.6 minutes per game, shooting .453/1-for-5/.862.
When the Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers in six games in 1992, he averaged 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 40.7 minutes per game on .484/2-for-9/.786 shooting.
Chicago beat the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals, with Pippen averaging 21.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, two steals and a block in 44.3 minutes per game, shooting .439/0-for-6/.543.
The Bulls returned to the top in the 1996 NBA Finals, beating the Seattle SuperSonics in six games. Pippen averaged 15.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 41.3 minutes per game on .343/.231/.708 shooting.
Chicago knocked off the Utah Jazz in six games in 1997 and Pippen averaged 20 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals in 42.8 minutes per game, shooting .421/.375/.778 in the Finals.
The Bulls got title No. 6 by beating the Jazz again in six games in the 1998 NBA Finals, with Pippen averaging 15.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 39.5 minutes per game on .410/.231/.833 shooting.
That was the end of the party, however, as Chicago broke up the band, trading Pippen to the Houston Rockets in January 1999, after the lockout ended, for Roy Rogers and a second-round pick in 2000.
In nine seasons with the Bulls in the 1990s, Pippen averaged 19.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.3 steals and a block in 37.9 minutes per game, shooting .484/.332/.702.
In his lone season in Houston, Pippen was again an All-Defensive team performer and averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and two steals in 40.2 minutes per game on .432/.340/.721 shooting.
In October 1999, Pippen was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Stacey Augmon, Kelvin Cato, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw and Walt Williams and spent four seasons there.
He returned to the Bulls as a free agent in July 2003 and after one injury-shortened season, retired in October 2004.
In the 1990s, Pippen was 10th with 14,040 points, 11th with 4,312 assists and third with 1,639 steals.
He is 42nd all-time with 1,178 games, 23rd with 41,069 minutes played, 28th with 6,135 assists, sixth with 2,307 steals and 12th with an average of two steals per game.
Selected fifth overall by the Sonics out of Central Arkansas in the 1987 NBA Draft, Pippen was traded to Chicago on draft night along with a first-round pick in 1989 in exchange for the rights to eighth overall pick Olden Polynice, a second-rounder in 1988 and a 1989 first-round selection.
He was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1997 and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.