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Who Are the Seahawks' 'Jordan and Pippen?'

Looking back at several iconic duos in Seahawks history, while also celebrating ESPN's excellent "The Last Dance" documentary, which pair had a similar impact to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen with the Bulls?
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With the wild popularity of the 10-part ESPN documentary on the Chicago Bulls' dynasty in the 1990s, "The Last Dance" highlighted the truly special connection between long-time teammates Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. It sparks thoughts of more recent pairings that achieved greatness in the world of sports.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen will likely never be topped as the most iconic, decorated tandem in sports history, winning six titles with 21 All-Star selections between the two players and both now enshrined in basketball's Hall of Fame. 

Of course, the Seahawks did not win six Super Bowls in eight seasons like the Bulls did titles in the NBA, but Seattle had its most successful run in franchise history in the 2010s decade and several pairs of Seahawks worked together to put a Lombardi Trophy in the case at the VMAC.

Let's have a little fun and explore the best Seahawks player tandems during their recent run of success. 

Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch

While these two might not have been chummy and didn't hang out for hours on end after games, they have a connection to this franchise and this city that is unbreakable. 

Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch arrived in the middle of the 2010 season from Buffalo for a 2011 fourth round pick and a 2012 fifth round pick. It didn't take long for him to become legendary in Seattle, with his 67-yard touchdown run in the Wild Card round against the Saints that same season, now recognized as the "Beast Quake."

Wilson came along two seasons later, earning the starting role his rookie year in 2012 by beating out high-priced veteran Matt Flynn. Since starting in Week 1 that year, he hasn't missed a single start and led the team to seven playoff berths.

Lynch enjoyed three straight seasons of at least 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns with Wilson under center from 2012 to 2014, including leading the NFL in touchdowns in the two years they appeared in the Super Bowl. 

Wilson also completed 109 passes to Lynch out of the backfield for 959 yards and seven scores during their time together. 

The Seahawks' signal caller quickly became one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, leading the NFL in touchdown passes in 2017 and finishing a season five times with at least a 100.0 passer rating. 

The two have played 56 regular season games and 11 playoff games together, earned nine Pro Bowl selections, and won two NFC West championships along with two NFC crowns and a Super Bowl title. 

Of course, the elephant in the room is that the two did not connect on perhaps the most gut-wrenching sequence in Super Bowl history when Seattle fell a yard short of a repeat during Super Bowl XLIX. 

Heartbreak aside, as far as quarterback-running back duos of the past decade are concerned, these two have to rank near the top for there are not many, if any during the same era, who have won as much as Wilson and Lynch did in their four-plus years together.

Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright

Find a better linebacker duo than Wagner and Wright in the NFL in the last 10 years. 

Let's cut to the chase - you can't. 

Although they may not be as "sexy" of a couple as Wilson and Lynch as far as offensive firepower and eye-popping numbers, these two have been the epitome of steadiness and consistency over the past eight years they have been teammates. 

Wright came to Seattle a year before Wagner as a fourth rounder in the 2011 draft. He has gone on to play at least 13 games in eight of his nine years thus far with the Seahawks. Wagner also became in instant starter after being a second round pick in the now-renowned 2012 draft and has played in all but nine games in eight seasons. 

As a tandem, it has become routine to collect 100 tackles apiece throughout a season. In five of their eight years together, they each achieved the century mark in tackles. 

Despite Wright being 30 years old and coming off of a tough, injury-riddled 2018 season, he was able to put together one of his finest seasons as a Seahawk with 132 tackles and three interceptions in 2019. Wagner can say the same, just a year short of 30, as he amassed an NFL-leading 159 tackles with three sacks and an interception last year. 

These two are the only duo discussed here (unless Lynch signs on for another season) that are still playing together in Seattle and could build upon their impressive resume as a pair. With seven Pro Bowls, Wagner's five All-Pro selections, and a Super Bowl title between them, one would be hard-pressed to find a more decorated linebacker duo.

Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor

These two may go down as the greatest safety tandem of all time. They truly brought the "boom" to the Legion of Boom era in Seattle. 

The best part of this duo was that they were very different players, but they were equally important to the Seahawks defensive success. It wasn't "Batman and Robin," it was "Batman and Batman." 

Chancellor brought the lumber as a heavy hitter close to the line of scrimmage while Thomas played centerfield as graciously as another Seattle great, "The Kid" himself, Ken Griffey Jr. Thomas was fearsome as an open-field hitter and surveyed an extraordinary amount of ground in coverage. 

Amazingly, the two arrived in Seattle in the same draft. Thomas was Seattle's second first round pick coming out of Texas and Chancellor was picked in the fifth round out of Virginia Tech in 2010.  

By their second year in the league, each was a starter in Seattle's defensive backfield and immediately became one of the best safety pairs in the league, as the duo earned Pro Bowl nods in 2011.

By 2012, it was clear this marriage was a special one.

Thomas put together his first of three First-Team All-Pro campaigns with 66 tackles and three interceptions while Chancellor lowered the boom to the tune of 101 tackles. 

From 2011 to 2017, they were the heart and soul of the most feared defense in the league, passing and bumping around helpless ballcarriers like Jordan and Pippen did a basketball.

The pair played 26 playoff games combined for Seattle, with five interceptions on top of over 170 tackles. Some argue Chancellor should have been Super Bowl MVP for his dominant performance with 10 tackles, an interception, and two passes defensed in that Super Bowl XLVIII victory. Instead, the award went to teammate Malcolm Smith.

With 10 Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl title, 1,271 tackles, and 40 interceptions between the two of them headlining the league's top scoring defense four years in a row, the list of defensive teammates better than these two is very slim, if it even exists at all.