Horace was there. He flew in from chasing around his 14-month-old in Northern California. Hodgy came along too. He works with kids around Long Beach in addition to his duties working part time for the Lakers. Tex joined the team for the trip, though he usually hangs around his Oregon place. Dennis arrived on this planet a few days ago and stayed over to attend. There was Will, Stacey, Toni, Randy and Bill. Phil, of course, was there with the Lakers, who were playing the Bulls, and Michael came off the golf course, or the motocross track or wherever he finds his adventures these days.
Yes, only first names are needed. We know who they are.
They scheduled an NBA game here Friday, but a reunion broke out for the retirement of Scottie Pippen’s jersey at halftime of the Bulls’ 93-80 loss against the Lakers.
It was a reunion of the best time ever in Chicago sports, arguably the most exciting time in American sports.
Perhaps never before has a group like this come together–captivating, skilled, entertaining, controversial, eclectic, individualistic yet team committed and wildly successful. Other franchises have won more, like the Boston Celtics and New York Yankees. Others may have been more famous longer, like America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys. And others perhaps more beloved, like Green Bay’s affection for its Packers.
But there never was anything like the coming together of Jordan’s transcendent brilliance with Pippen’s elegance supported by Grant’s work ethic, Rodman’s iconoclasm, Bill Cartwright’s dignity and Phil Jackson’s guiding light.
It was a group and a period to treasure and even Pippen, to this day as the awards and honors mount, hasn’t fully comprehended the magnitude.
“It’s hard to really look back at the championships,” Pippen admitted a few days before Friday’s ceremony as he contemplated the enormity of the experience and the celebration for him. “I’m not even really sure what happened, how we did win all those championships, why we didn’t get knocked off.”
It came across in the comments Friday during the 25-minute halftime presentation that featured the raising of a banner for Pippen between those hanging on the west side of the United Center between the banners for Jordan and Jackson.
Jackson recalled the team’s eternal struggle, Pippen’s concussion and migraine headache against the Pistons before the team broke through.
“Michael gave them hell and Scottie [was] patting guys on the back. It was a great combination,” Jackson said.
Recorded messages from NBA Commissioner David Stern, John Paxson and Doug Collins spoke of Pippen’s unselfish play and winning attitude. Charles Barkley jabbed that Jordan needed to kiss the ground Pippen walked on.
Jordan, seated in the front row along with Jackson, Pippen and his family, Grant and Rodman, didn’t totally disagree. He spoke eloquently of the magical pairing of competitors unique in NBA history, likely the best scoring guard and perhaps the best defensive small forward to play the game. Jordan said Pippen was like a brother always there when needed, thanking Pippen for “watching my back” and promising to be there always for him.
“To be alongside his [banner] means so much to me,” Pippen said in crediting his teammates, the Bulls organization and the community.
Even if he never has fully figured it all out.
How Jordan was able to dribble full court in a pivotal Game 3 and hit the shot that sent a sure Lakers victory into overtime and led to a Bulls’ run the rest of the way. How they came back from 15 down in 1992 to avoid a Game 7. Why Paxson’s shots dropped against Suns in 1993 to avoid another Game 7, this one on the road. Why Jordan was able to hit that last posed shot in 1998 and how the toughest of them all, Karl Malone, couldn’t handle the ball.
Pippen has been learning golf the last few years. He’s good, a handicap in the teens already, though his competitiveness causes frustration against so many former players who played the game for years.
“When we didn’t win in ’88 in ’89 when I had the migraine, I spent the summers working out,” Pippen said. “I never played golf. Maybe that was the time I should have been playing. But me and Horace were always in the gym. We didn’t go home. Maybe if I played back then I’d be a single digit now. But you had to work on your body to stay healthy for the season. We were, and nobody could beat us.”
So Pippen and that remarkable group ended up with the most important single digit: six NBA championships that were a gift to a community to cherish always.
Thanks, guys.
Thanks, Scottie.
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Talkin’ about Scottie Pippen . . .
“Michael Jordan should be kissing the ground you walk on because you helped him win all those championships and did the heavy lifting.”
Charles Barkley
“He pushed me to be the best basketball player I could be in practice. And I pushed him to be the best Scottie Pippen he could be.”
Michael Jordan
“For the coaches that worked with Scottie, he was the best. He worked hard at this game, had an aptitude for this game.”
Phil Jackson
“A wonderful, well-deserved honor. . . . You were an unselfish star and an unselfish teammate.”
John Paxson
“You were the best at what you did . . . incredible at both ends of the floor.”
Doug Collins
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sasmith@tribune.com
