Rich Paul went on his podcast and said Scottie Pippen was the most impactful player on those Bulls championship teams, strongly implying Jordan’s six rings mean less without Pippen beside him.
That was enough for Stacey King. The former Bulls big man, who won three of those rings with Chicago and watched Jordan operate from the inside, fired back on the Gimme The Hot Sauce Podcast.
Rich Paul’s Take and the Company He Was Keeping
On his “Game Over” podcast, Paul, the founder of Klutch Sports Group and LeBron’s longtime agent, made the argument that Pippen’s contributions were so central to Chicago’s six titles that the two stars’ rings carry equal weight.
“I think Scottie’s rings are the same as Michael Jordan’s,” Paul said. “He was the most impactful player on the team. If you unplug Scottie Pippen off that team, Jordan is 0-for-6.”
Paul also used the same platform to separate Jordan from LeBron as the “GOAT” and the “best ever,” a framing that’s awfully convenient given who he represents. “The way you feel about peak and longevity is the way I feel about GOAT and best ever,” he said. “I think Michael’s the GOAT, and I think LeBron is the best ever.”
Gilbert Arenas, also on the podcast, didn’t buy the broader framework Paul was constructing. Arenas argued that ring culture, the idea of players teaming up specifically to chase championships, was never part of the conversation when Jordan was dominating.
“Ring culture is not real. It was never real,” Arenas said. “When you go back into the 80s and 90s, there was no ring culture. Magic Johnson going into that season said Jordan was the GOAT. He is the best player ever.”
King didn’t approach this from a defensive posture. There was no walking through Jordan’s Finals record or his five MVPs. The target was the statistical mountain that LeBron’s supporters point to whenever the greatest-ever debate comes up.
“Just because you played longer than everybody else doesn’t make you the GOAT,” King said, “that you’ve been able to stockpile points, rebounds and assists because you played 8 to 10 years more than someone else. Every stat you had you had to play an extra 8 years to get it.”
James is 41 years old, still an active player, weighing a return with the Los Angeles Lakers, as he’s set to become a free agent this summer. He’s the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game across 23 seasons, along with 10 Finals appearances at a 4-6 record.
King’s argument is that padding them across a window that stretches 8 to 10 years longer than Jordan’s prime changes what the stat line actually proves. Jordan went to the Finals six times and won six times. That’s where King’s logic lands, and it’s not a bad place to stop.
