Scottie Pippen made an effort to seize the attention of the basketball community once again with his most recent statements. Although over two decades have passed since Pippen played in the NBA, veteran fans still remember his impressive abilities and contributions to the Chicago Bulls’ two three-peats within seven years.
Pippen’s status among the greatest players in league history is usually a subject of intense debate and discussion. After all, he played alongside Michael Jordan and had most of his success overshadowed by Jordan’s greatness. Despite no longer being considered strictly relevant to league activities, Pippen does his best to validate his position among the greatest players ever.
Scottie Pippen Believes He Would Be Among the Best Players in Today’s NBA
Comparisons between the previous eras of basketball and the modern one never really end. Fans always consider one generation inherently superior to the other, making all-time rankings and comparisons a matter of subjectivity. This can be viewed by the fact that several current fans wholeheartedly believe that someone like Stephen Curry should be ranked higher than Magic Johnson.
Although Johnson won more titles and can be considered the more accomplished star, recency bias is clearly on the Warriors star’s side, with fans still remembering his most recent championship run in 2022.
Back to Pippen and Jordan: Many NBA analysts rank Pippen between No. 20 and No. 35 when making lists to compare the best players in league history. However, Pippen believes that he should be ranked higher. In fact, he caught the NBA world off guard by boldly claiming that he would be among the best players in the modern era of basketball if he were still playing.
“There’s no reason to think otherwise. If I worked as hard as I did back then, I believe I’d easily be among the best.”
Scottie Pippen says he would be the best player in the league if he played today
“There’s no reason to think otherwise. If I worked as hard as I did back then, I believe I’d easily be among the best.”
(Via El Pais / h/t @hoopshype ) pic.twitter.com/uyRd0tj2ku
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 5, 2025
When this report came out, some attempted to mislead fans by implying that Pippen believes he would be the very best among the modern generation of stars rather than being one of the best.
That would indicate that he believes in his own superiority over current superstars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and several others.
While Pippen is allowed to feel that way, it is essential to remember that he was never able to lead a team to a title as the primary scoring option and leader. There is also no way to know if Pippen could adapt his playing style and upgrade his game to establish his value in the modern generation.
Let us know if you think Pippen deserves to be ranked higher or if his self-confidence is slowly getting out of hand.