Just saw Malone and Pippen's speeches, good stuff. It's great to see these men (or boys) who came from usually humble backgrounds, remember back, and recognize the coaches and people who helped them along the way.
As a child I was introduced the game by MJ and the Bulls, Bird was at tail end of his career (though still very good) and Magic was voted out of the NBA with HIV, but there were a handful of players I had HEARD of, Pippen was one of them. For a kid who didn't watch basketball at all, that tells you what a household name he was. I became a Jazz fan though when by chance a friend got a hold of several boxes of Upper Deck basketball cards and gave me a box, and I went through all the cards, looking at who has the best stats to determine the best players, and I thought Malone was the 2nd best player and that's when I started following him, to not follow the status quo (Bulls fans were everywhere in Miami, Miami was still that crappy expansion team then.
These two guys really mean a lot to me when it comes to basketball, and I think that there aren't too many of these guys left out there. Pippen was so dynamic, it's VERY hard to measure his impact as a player since he will forever live MJ's shadow, but he was a villan to Jazz fans', with his defense amongst all his other great skillsets. Malone was pretty much what I expected to see, he looks like could probably still put up atleast 10 points a night. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Pippen with post NBA life, hope he doesn't go wrong road like many other former players have been, and for Malone just a little for never getting that MUCH deserved title, still those who watched him every night know that he was more than his stats and incredible list of accomplishments and honors, he was a beast like few others in the league's history.
Great night man.
