Scottie Pippen

Scottie Pippen was an American basketball player best known for his career with the Chicago Bulls, where he formed an effective partnership with Michael Jordan and won six NBA Championships. Born on September 25, 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas, as one of 12 children, Pippen attended Hamburg High School and found great basketball success, but did not receive college scholarships. Shortly after graduating, however, he was discovered by a University of Central Arkansas coach, and played for the school from 1983 to 1987. After drawing attention from NBA scouts, Pippen was selected fifth overall in the 1987 NBA draft by the Seattle Supersonics, but was traded to the Chicago Bulls. He began his career on November 7, 1987, playing the Philadelphia 76ers; the Bulls won the game. Pippen slowly but surely improved over the years, and in the 1990-91 season, he emerged as the Bulls' primary defensive stopper and Michael Jordan's partner in criminally good basketball playing. In 1992, he joined the U.S. "Dream Team" in the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where they won the gold medal. Pippen was part of the Bulls' team as they pulled off their first three-peat of winning NBA Championships, from 1991-93. After Michael Jordan retired in 1993, Pippen received further star power; the team lost the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the New York Knicks in one of the most controversial play-off series in the league. Michael Jordan returned to the NBA and the Bulls in 1995, and with his reunion with Pippen and the addition of key players like Dennis Rodman, the Bulls landed their second three-peat as they won each NBA Championship from 1996-98. In 1998, Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he only played for one season. He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1999, where he stayed for a bit longer, and finally returned to the Bulls for the 2003-04 season, his final one. The Bulls retired his number, 33, in 2005, and Pippen was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Pippen was a six-time NBA champion and is considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time. He ended up with a career points total of 18,940, 7,494 rebounds, and 6,135 assists. Pippen broke numerous NBA records with and without Michael Jordan, and made numerous cameo appearances in films, TV shows, video games, and more.