Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen entered the NBA with something to prove.
He wasn't well known while playing at tiny Central Arkansas in the NAIA. It caused him to arrive with the Chicago Bulls in 1987 with a chip on his shoulder.
“There was something there to give me the confidence just to talk shit,” Pippen said in an interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson. “I had a journey like Oakley coming from a small school. Just having that confidence in myself instilled more confidence.”
Pippen did more than prove his worth. He won six championships while playing alongside Michael Jordan with the Bulls. They are considered one of the top duos in NBA history.
Among Pippen's accomplishments was inventing to the term "point forward." He played small forward but the Bulls used him like a point guard. It paved the way for guys like Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway and Kevin Durant.
“I came in this league as a point guard and [was] put at small forward,” Pippen said. “I was kinda learning the game from a position that I was never put in.”
THE ORIGINAL COOPER FLAGG?
Cooper Flagg is set to become the No. 1 pick by the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA draft later this month.
While some have compared him to Luka Doncic, longtime writer Chuck Klosterman had a different comparision. During an appearance with Bill Simmons of The Ringer, Klosterman said Flagg was similar to 1980s and `90s superstar Detlef Schrempf.
"I think he's going to have a career like Detlef Shrempf," Klosterman said. "I think he's going to be a very good player ... I don't see him as a dominating player."
Shrempf was among the NBA's first dominant Sixth Man. He helped make the role a commodity, joining the likes of Vinny Johnson, Manu Ginobili, Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams. Shrempf played with Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers and Seattle Supersonics. He was a three-time All-Star and won the Sixth Man of the Year Award twice.
While the Mavs are probably expecting more from Flagg, Klosterman sees him having a ceiling similar to Schrempf.
"I think he will be the second-best player on a good team or the third-best player on a great team," Klosterman said of Flagg. "Nothing that I saw to me, not that I'm an expert, made me think that he is going to be an unstoppable player."
Simmons was a bit complimentary of Flagg. He said Flagg will reach the status of Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett.
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