One Final Game: Scottie Pippen
Date: February 4, 2003
Everyone knows Scottie Pippen for his time with the Chicago Bulls, when he was Michael Jordan’s wingman for six championships in eight seasons. Once Jordan hung up his sneakers for the second time (not to last, of course) Pippen joined the Houston Rockets for a season before playing with the Portland Trail Blazers for four, the final four seasons of relevance for his career.
Those Portland teams were a motley crew, an ensemble cast trying to win a title in a superstar’s league. Pippen didn’t have it in him anymore to be a dominant player every night, but he certainly had his moments.
The last truly special game of his career was in February of 2003, his penultimate season, in a game against the Orlando Magic. He took over the game, scoring a game-high 25 points in a showdown opposite a much younger Tracy McGrady. Pippen lived at the free throw line, hitting 11 of his 13 attempts.
Added to the scoring was his work on both ends of the court. He snatched 17 total rebounds, 13 on the defensive glass, while dishing out seven assists on the other end. He ran a beautiful two-man game with big man Arvydas Sabonis carving up the Orlando defense. Pippen would only score as many as 20 points two more times in his career, but for One Final Game he showed that he still had some magic within.