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Scottie Pippen stepped out of Michael Jordan's shadow and won the only MVP award of his NBA career
There’s no doubt that Michael Jordan’s play and mere presence cast a massive shadow over the rest of his teammates, including fellow All-Star Scottie Pippen. However, Pippen finally got to shine on his own during the 1993-1994 season when Jordan abruptly retired from the NBA to try playing professional baseball.
Pippen took full advantage of the opportunity, and things came to a head at the 1994 All-Star Game when Pippen played the best out of all the stars there and took home the All-Star Game MVP trophy.
Did it his way
Finally free to do his own thing, Pippen was the star of stars in the 44th NBA All-Star Game, which was held in Minneapolis. Pippen tallied 29 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals to help power the East team to a 127-118 win over the West. He made 9-of-15 from the field, sinking five triples. Pippen’s superb performance earned him a unanimous nod from the 11-member media panel as the game’s MVP.
After the game, Pippen said he felt incredible during his warm-up and tried to see if he could carry it into the game.
“It was one of those games where I came out and I got myself a good warm-up where I wasn’t missing any shots,” Pippen said.
“I just said to myself, ‘Hey, I’m going to go in and try to put this thing on ice and try to bring it back out.’”
“I was feeling pretty hot that day. I was in such a great rhythm,” Pippen added.
“I didn’t even realize I had 11 rebounds in the game. I was shooting the ball well from the three-point line in the warm-ups and I kept with it. I felt I had a good rhythm going into the game and had a feeling it was going to be my day.”
Carried the Bulls during that season
Throughout the 1994 season, Pippen put the Bulls on his back, leading them to 55 wins. The long-limbed wingman averaged 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.9 steals per game, finishing third in the voting for the season’s Most Valuable Player award.
Chicago made it out of the first round of the NBA Playoffs but succumbed to the New York Knicks in the second round.
