Basketball News - Scottie Pippen Retires


Scottie Pippen stood in front of the six championship trophies he helped the Chicago Bulls win and announced his retirement Tuesday, ending his 17-year NBA career in the same city in which it began.

"This was a very difficult decision for me to retire from playing a game that has been such a great part of my life. My family and I would like to thank the fans and the entire Chicago Bulls organization, especially Jerry Reinsdorf and John Paxson, for bringing me back to where I started,” said Pippen. “I am retiring, but I still plan on being around for training camp to help this team. After 17 years, it’s tough for me to just walk away completely.”

Pippen, 39, played in 1,178 games and averaged 16.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.2 apg and 1.96 spg during an illustrious career that placed him among the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of all-time in 1996 and helped the Bulls bring home six NBA World Championship titles (1991-1993 & 1996-1998). His 208 career playoff appearances rank second in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 237. Pippen led his teams to post-season appearances in each of his first 16 seasons and compiled NBA Playoff averages of 17.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 5.2 apg and 1.96 spg in 208 games.

Pippen also played for the USA Mens Basketball "Dream Team" in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Along with teammate Michael Jordan, Scottie helped the USA Men bring home the Gold.

“Scottie Pippen is one of the greatest Chicago Bulls of all time. His contributions to this franchise during his tenure here have been innumerable,” said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “As an organization we thank him for everything. To fully recognize what he has meant to this organization, we plan to have a day in his honor and retire his number 33 at a future date to be determined.”

“Scottie Pippen is the epitome of a true professional. He is a great teammate and a winner who is one of the best to ever wear a Bulls uniform,” said Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson. “Our decision to bring Scottie back last summer served us well and it is unfortunate he will not be a leader of our team again this year. Scottie will always be a part of the Chicago Bulls family and we wish him nothing but the best.”

During his 12 years in a Bulls uniform, Pippen has placed his name at or very near the top of every statistical category in franchise history. He is the team’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals (664) and 3-point field goal attempts (2,031) and ranks second in 12 other categories.

His career numbers have also placed him atop the NBA’s all-time leader board in many statistical categories, including 40th in points (18,940), fourth in steals (2,307), 23rd in assists (6,135) and 13th in minutes played (41,069).

Originally drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1987 NBA Draft, Pippen’s draft rights were traded to Chicago for the draft rights to Olden Polynice and future considerations. The 6-8, 228-pound forward/guard spent his first 11 seasons in the NBA with the Bulls and starting at small forward in the Bulls' six World Championships. Chicago dealt Pippen to the Houston Rockets on Jan. 22, 1999, in exchange for Roy Rogers and a conditional second-round draft selection. After spending the shortened 1999 season with the Rockets, Houston sent him to the Portland Trail Blazers in October 1999.

Pippen played four seasons in Portland before returning to Chicago as a free agent on July 20, 2003. He was brought back to the "Windy City" last season to provide leadership and experience to a young Bulls team. But he had knee surgery in December and played in only 23 games as the Bulls went 23-59. "To say I could go 82 games would be kidding myself,'' Pippen said. It was the first time in his career Pippen missed the playoffs.




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