Where would Peak Scottie Pippen rank today?

[Matt15]

Where would peak Pippen rank overall in todays game?

[TheGOATRises007]

I have his peak as 94.

I think you can make an argument for top 10, but I see no argument for top 5. Top 15 more likely.

[eminence]

Tatum that can't shoot. ~3rd Team AllNBA quality guy. Voted Top 15, health might get him a few seasons at the back of the top 10.

[Ol Roy]

I voted top 10. For the same reason I don't think Giannis would have been as dominant in the 90s-00s, I do think Pippen would be better today. They play similarly on offense and share great athleticism, but the environment is different now. The lane is opened up with spacing, there's a lack of rim protection, and it's easier to travel. If you aren't a great shooter and do best when you can put the ball on the floor and attack the basket, this is the time to play. To be clear, I don't think Pippen would be as good as Giannis, because he's smaller and not as aggressive (even adjusting for era, I think) but he could be an approximation. His facilitating would probably expand today, too. Defensively, Pippen is built to excel as much today as he did back then.

[XTC]

I honestly think 94 Pippen comes in and averages something like 24/10/6/3/1 with a 60% TS and plays lockdown defense.

94 Pippen was that good. He's firmly in my top 10, and I can see a case for top 5.
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[giberish]

Tatum that can't shoot. ~3rd Team AllNBA quality guy. Voted Top 15, health might get him a few seasons at the back of the top 10.

Worse shooter but better defender and playmaker than Tatum. So about even in overall quality. Which is around top-5.

[Djoker]

Tatum that can't shoot. ~3rd Team AllNBA quality guy. Voted Top 15, health might get him a few seasons at the back of the top 10.

Pippen is better defensively than Tatum.

[lessthanjake]

I think peak Scottie Pippen was similarly good as peak Paul George, so my answer would basically be that he’d be at that level (though obviously Paul George isn’t at his peak right now, so perhaps that just exchanges one hypothetical for a somewhat-easier-to-conceptualize one).

[eminence]

Tatum that can't shoot. ~3rd Team AllNBA quality guy. Voted Top 15, health might get him a few seasons at the back of the top 10.

Pippen is better defensively than Tatum.

Pippen in his era was better defensively than Tatum is here and now, I'll agree to that. In era I think Pippen has a very strong argument as the non big defensive GOAT.

I don't think Pippen here/now would be meaningfully better defensively than Tatum.

[Djoker]

Tatum that can't shoot. ~3rd Team AllNBA quality guy. Voted Top 15, health might get him a few seasons at the back of the top 10.

Pippen is better defensively than Tatum.

Pippen in his era was better defensively than Tatum is here and now, I'll agree to that. In era I think Pippen has a very strong argument as the non big defensive GOAT.

I don't think Pippen here/now would be meaningfully better defensively than Tatum.

Wow. That's actually a pretty radical take to me. I think Pippen is considerably better than Tatum in any era on the defensive end. He has better fundamentals, better anticipation, higher motor... That translates to any era. Even if defense is harder to play today and IMO it is, Tatum still doesn't stand out among his peers so if Pippen is better relative to era, then he's just better.

[eminence]

Pippen is better defensively than Tatum.

Pippen in his era was better defensively than Tatum is here and now, I'll agree to that. In era I think Pippen has a very strong argument as the non big defensive GOAT.

I don't think Pippen here/now would be meaningfully better defensively than Tatum.

Wow. That's actually a pretty radical take to me. I think Pippen is considerably better than Tatum in any era on the defensive end. He has better fundamentals, better anticipation, higher motor... That translates to any era. Even if defense is harder to play today and IMO it is, Tatum still doesn't stand out among his peers so if Pippen is better relative to era, then he's just better.

Sounds mostly like we mostly disagree on Tatum, whom I have as the best non-center (or partly center like Giannis) defender of this generation.

[capfan33]

Tatum that can't shoot. ~3rd Team AllNBA quality guy. Voted Top 15, health might get him a few seasons at the back of the top 10.

Pippen is better defensively than Tatum.

Pippen in his era was better defensively than Tatum is here and now, I'll agree to that. In era I think Pippen has a very strong argument as the non big defensive GOAT.

I don't think Pippen here/now would be meaningfully better defensively than Tatum.

While the game is a lot more advanced now than it was 30 years ago I’m not sure I’m willing to go that far. Pippen was still a much better athlete and especially off-ball seemed much more disruptive.

I guess the word meaningfully is doing a lot here. If we assume Pippen is the best perimeter defender today along the lines of JDub, Caruso, Thimpson twins, etc, then how much better do we think those guys are compared to Tatum. Interesting question, I'm not really sure myself.

[eminence]

I should stop comping players to Tatum - it's not meant to slight any player as I'm very high on Tatum - I've voted him 3rd/2nd/1st in the last 3 POY votes.

[tsherkin]

Peak Scottie, assuming only regular season discussion, would surely be top 20, maybe top 15 depending on how he played in the RS, what team he was on, etc. Nasty transition player, very versatile, obviously an incredible defender. Unreliable jumper, though, and definitely a knob at the foul line. He'd get assassinated for crunch-time play, and he wouldn't be a high-end scorer at all in today's environment. He was very athletic, and the game's nice and fast right now, but his handle wasn't inspiring, nor was his jumper, and he definitely didn't have legit 3pt range to speak of. There are a LOT of really good players in the league right now, but Pippen is just an uninspiring scorer and playoff performer to me.

[ShotCreator]

Tatum that can't shoot. ~3rd Team AllNBA quality guy. Voted Top 15, health might get him a few seasons at the back of the top 10.

Tatum can't finish or offensively rebound like Pippen did. And considering eras, Pippen's playmaking ability is much stronger.

Tatum is a perfect level for him. I think that's exactly where he would stand in the league if he were playing now. None of the rate stats, or impact metrics disagree.

[Special_Puppy]

Probably top 4

[Texas Chuck]

I should stop comping players to Tatum - it's not meant to slight any player as I'm very high on Tatum - I've voted him 3rd/2nd/1st in the last 3 POY votes.

You should stick to your guns. I just also disagree Tatum is the best non big defender in the league. I don't think he's the best non-big defender just on Boston and that's before we go digging through OKC who has several options or some of the other elite wing defenders.

I also think Pippen to be notches above any of the non-center defenders now.

That said, I would have Tatum more valuable than Pippen. Tatum is a legit first option. Pippen would not be.

[One_and_Done]

Pippen would be a nice player today. Maybe top 15, unlike in his own era when he was sometimes a top 5 player. That's no slight on Pippen. Today's league is alot tougher, I doubt Jordan would be the best player today either.

[pancakes3]

the only guys that would be clearly better would be Giannis, SGA, Luka, and Jokic.

guys like Tatum, Ant, Lebron, KD, AD, etc. are only debatably better imo.

27/7/7 is prime lebron type numbers.