Video: How Michael Jordan Could Have Saved the Oklahoma City Thunder

Michael Jordan could have saved the Oklahoma City Thunder. Had Jordan released footage from the Last Dance between 2012 and 2016, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook could have learned to put ego aside and worked to win a championship.

In the latest episode of The Open Floor podcast from Sports Illustrated, Ben Golliver and Michael Pina discuss how Scottie Pippen was one of the most selfless players in NBA history. Jordan himself says, "He helped me so much in the way I approached the game, the way I played the game."

"Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen."..." When everybody says, well, I won all these championships, but I didn't win without Scottie Pippen."... "That's why I consider him my best teammate of all time."

Jordan's comments not only give high praise to Pippen, but they also dispel the myth the Bulls were a solo act. Least we forget two of the most critical shots in Chicago's dynasties came from John Paxson and Steve Kerr.

Durant understood no one wins a championship alone, which is why he left for Golden State, what he didn't realize what he had a running partner in Oklahoma City that had Jordan's intensity. As painful as it would have been for Durant to play second fiddle to Westbrook, that's what he should have done.

After Westbrook's 43 point performance in game four of the 2012 Finals, it was clear he could put the Thunder on his shoulders in big moments. It might be far fetched to think but had Durant and Westbrook had been able to see just how Jordan and Pippen worked together, maybe they would have understood the self-sacrifice one has to make for another to be great.