In an episode of Scoop B Radio, TNT’s Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith told Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson that the 1994 Houston Rockets championship team would have beaten the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals even if Michael Jordan hadn’t retired.
(H/T to Uproxx’s Oliver Maroney )
Well, also yesterday, former Chicago Bulls forward Scottie Pippen appeared on an episode of ESPN’s The Jump with former Los Angeles Lakers guard and former NBA coach Byron Scott. On the show, host Rachel Nichols gauged Pippen’s opinion of Kenny Smith’s comments on Scoop B Radio.
“He forgot what my role was,” Pippen said. “I cut the head off of snakes. And I’m calling him the snake of that team.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8ygIjcrcqs&t=2s
Pippen made it a point to clarify that he loves Smith and that “snake” in this context means more “point guard” than, you know, what people usually mean when they call someone a snake
Pippen’s larger point was that the Rockets’ success hinged on getting the ball to Hakeem Olajuwon – who was in his prime at this time and may have been the best player in the league with Jordan on his baseball sabbatical – and that his ability to shut people down would have made it difficult for Smith to do this. To take things a step further, Pippen said if they were still getting the ball into Olajuwon, he might have needed to guard the big man.
While you’re keeping score at home, Pippen’s even had to play defense on Kenny Smith. See video below.
