NBA's Greatest Duo

[jwill2]

in my very UNBIASED opinion.... i think pippen's NOTHING without jordan. if anything i think rodman played a bigger role in the bulls championships.

[Sauru]

in my very UNBIASED opinion.... i think pippen's NOTHING without jordan. if anything i think rodman played a bigger role in the bulls championships.

you clearly didnt watch the bulls games the first time jordan retired.

[MVP]

THE BEST

in my very UNBIASED opinion.... i think pippen's NOTHING without jordan. if anything i think rodman played a bigger role in the bulls championships.

MJ would not have won all those championships without Pippen. True, MJ made Pip a better player, but who else could have complement MJ better? Who could have done all the little things to allow MJ to concentrate on scoring?

Read this: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/s ... id=1895719

[jwill2]

in my very UNBIASED opinion.... i think pippen's NOTHING without jordan. if anything i think rodman played a bigger role in the bulls championships.

you clearly didnt watch the bulls games the first time jordan retired.

i think it's just cause i like rodman more than pippen.

[Strike Freedom]

in my very UNBIASED opinion.... i think pippen's NOTHING without jordan. if anything i think rodman played a bigger role in the bulls championships.

you clearly didnt watch the bulls games the first time jordan retired.

i think it's true...
cuz when Jordan first retired.. he would've taught pippen alot of stuff before he left...

and then Pippen went on to earn the MVP the next year..(right?)
but it wasn't enough... to win the championship..

[Fresh8]

ummm... didnt he say he was being unbiased??? his arguement failed and he says he made the statement because rodman was his fave player....

[beau_boy04]

THE BEST

in my very UNBIASED opinion.... i think pippen's NOTHING without jordan. if anything i think rodman played a bigger role in the bulls championships.

MJ would not have won all those championships without Pippen. True, MJ made Pip a better player, but who else could have complement MJ better? Who could have done all the little things to allow MJ to concentrate on scoring?


Magic Johnson could have been the perfect complement for MJ OMG the MJ duo could have cause a wreck havoc if they had played together.

[GloveGuy]

Stockton and Malone defined what a duo is. The pick-and-roll is the most unstoppable two-man play in basketball, and they perfected it. Offensively, they easily get my vote, because they're one of the few duos on this list who played off of each other. They defined each other's careers and really made each other better players.

But the Jordan/Pippen duo gets my vote because of two things: Defense and Championships. There wasn't a scarier twosome of perimeter defenders than these two guys. Pippen with his long arms was better than anyone at getting in the passing lanes, while Jordan with his killer instincts could shut down anyone. It was their defense that won them championships, and while their offensive games weren't as dependent on each other as Stockalone's was, they're still the one's with the rings.

[jwill2]

ummm... didnt he say he was being unbiased??? his arguement failed and he says he made the statement because rodman was his fave player....

i was being sarcastic.... hence the smiley

[Amphatoast]

jordan and pippen mainly cause its the only "great" duo without a big man. Also consider the great big men they faced in there ages ( Hakeem, Malone, Ewing, Mutombo, Young Shaq, David Robinson, Barkley)

only Isiah and Dumars is a non big man combo, but then you count the rings comparing to Jordan/Pippen, not to mention the best record of all time (72-10)

[Fresh8]

jwill2... i see.. im blind!

[Sauru]

that fact that shaq/kobe has 4 votes while bird/mchale only got 1,russell/cousy only got 2, and isiah/dumars also only have 1 proves 1 of 2 things. either A. you are just laker fan boys and dont really care about the question so long as there is a option to vote for a laker or B. you dont know shit about basketball

[Matthew]

I think the reason that shaq/kobe got more votes was they were more valuable to their championship forumlae than bird/mchale. with the celtics, they still had parish (a top 50 player) along with dennis johnson and danny ainge. the next most valueable player for the lakers was derek fisher, so you can see the drop off.

Also, shaq and kobe, 3 rings. Bird/Mchale, also 3 rings. It's not like the celtics have a clear cut case to being better than the lakers of 2000-2002.

[Sauru]

well maybe we are thinking of different things when we hear the word duo. if the question is, what 2 players who happened to be on the same team were the most dominate, then shaq/kobe deserves some votes. now when i see the word duo i think of two guys who played off of each other and actually helped make each other better players.

[cyanide]

now when i see the word duo i think of two guys who played off of each other and actually helped make each other better players.

That's why I picked Malone (2nd all time points) and Stockton (all time assists)

[Matthew]

I still find that amusing. How can you pick them ahead of Pippen and Jordan, considerding what Piipen and Jordan did to them in 97 and 98. If the Jazz had actually won a series against the bulls, then i'd see your point, but surely winning does come into the equation?

Also, how can you look past Kareem and Magic. Kareem is the 1 all time scorer, and Magic finished his career as the leading assist man in the league history. Plus 5 championships, 6 mvps for kareem, 3 for magic... I love stockton and Malone, but cmon, putting them ahead of those 2 combo's doesnt make much sense.

[cyanide]

Jordan has always been the man in Chicago. Pippen is the sidekick or second option. Sure, they're mosters on defense, but I always see the Bulls as a Jordan team. As for Kareem and Magic, the Lakers were more of a team that included other stars like Worthy, Cooper, McAdoo, Scott, and even Rambis.

With Stockton and Malone, these guys go hand in hand, and without one another, one can't do crap. Jordan can dominate alone, but the team is not as strong with Pippen. Magic can dominate with any team, any time, but he just so happened to have Kareem on his team.

[Matthew]

Some interesting points there...

The showtime lakers did in fact have Worthy, cooper, scott.. but if you're going to include rambis, then surely you recognise Hornicek, Russell, Anoine Carr etc etc.

In the Bulls 2nd 3-peat (which is significant becuase we are comparing stock/malone to pip/mj) Jordan and Pippen were almost equals. They played their transition game and defensively together very well. Stockton and Malone were great in the half court, but not monsters defensively like MJ and pippen. There are two ends of the floor in basketball

I'm not discounting what malone and stockton did. They were impresive, and were oh so close to being 2 of the top 10 players in league history (had they won in 97 and 98), its just that i cant put them ahead of pippen and jordan or magic and kareem.

[cyanide]

Good points there. I know you take championships as a factor, and you might as well be right with your argument. With Stockton and Malone, I didn't take championships as a factor, but looked at their performances as a tandem, and so I felt that these guys feed off of each other better (pick and roll) than any other tandem.

[Matthew]

Championships add to the greatness of a player, but not having championships doesnt take anything away from a player. An example of this:
Tim Duncan and KG are virtually inseperable going by stats, but what makes Duncan better is the rings. It doesnt mean KG is any less of a player because he doesnt have a championship, it just means that duncan has to be given additional credit for taking his team to the title.

Stockton and Malone made the pick and roll famous, just like Jordan made the fadeaway famous, and kareem made the skyhook famous.

[GloveGuy]

Stockton and Malone made the pick and roll famous, just like Jordan made the fadeaway famous, and kareem made the skyhook famous.

I think you proved his point right there. There's a difference between having two superstars on the same team and having an actual duo -- regardless of how many championships are won.

Jordan made his trademark move by himself. It's not Jordan and Pippen making the fadeaway famous. Likewise for Kareem. It's not him and Magic perfecting the skyhook.

But it was Stockton AND Malone who made the pick-and-roll famous. They perfected it as one, and it was that play which contributed to most of their success. No, they didn't win any championships, but the aspect is overrated when it comes to sports legacies. They worked together better than any other twosome, and that's what really defines a duo.

Yes, I realize that I've contradicted most of the stuff that I wrote in my first post, but it seems as if many people's own opinions differ from others when it comes to giving merits to a duo.

On a last note, you're retarted if you voted for Shaq and Kobe. Regardless of how you define a duo, there's always a better pair than these two.

[ShivaSquad]

donyell and rafer best of all time

[Sauru]

Some interesting points there...



In the Bulls 2nd 3-peat (which is significant becuase we are comparing stock/malone to pip/mj) Jordan and Pippen were almost equals. They played their transition game and defensively together very well. Stockton and Malone were great in the half court, but not monsters defensively like MJ and pippen. There are two ends of the floor in basketball

stockton was no slacker on the defensive end mind you

[Matthew]

I think you proved his point right there. There's a difference between having two superstars on the same team and having an actual duo -- regardless of how many championships are won.

I dont think it does. Stokton and Malone were a great duo, one of the best. However, despite their trademark move being hand in hand with each other, you cant rank them ahead of MJ nad Pippen just for the simple fact that MJ and Pippen beat them in consecutive seasons in the finals. You also cant say "Malone number 2 in scoring, Stockton Number 1 in assists" becuase the magic and kareem duo had both finish number 1 in scoring and assists. then you have their championships. then you have the mvps.

Jordan made his trademark move by himself. It's not Jordan and Pippen making the fadeaway famous. Likewise for Kareem. It's not him and Magic perfecting the skyhook.

Individually MJ made the daeaway a work of art. But as a duo, Scottie and Michael played awesome together offensively. Setting each other up, taking turns in getting into the heart of the defense, cutting off each other. And defensively they were, imo, the best defensive tandem in league history too. Watch some tape if you havent of these two pressing up full court. The other team was so helpless bringing the ball up, it was amazing.

But it was Stockton AND Malone who made the pick-and-roll famous. They perfected it as one, and it was that play which contributed to most of their success. No, they didn't win any championships, but the aspect is overrated when it comes to sports legacies. They worked together better than any other twosome, and that's what really defines a duo.

Like I said earlier, championships should add to a players accomplishemnts, but not diminish those who don't have them. Is Barkley any worse of a player becuase he didnt win won? Is Ben Wallace any better becuase he does have one?

On a last note, you're retarted if you voted for Shaq and Kobe. Regardless of how you define a duo, there's always a better pair than these two.

Lol, don't be a hater

stockton was no slacker on the defensive end mind you

And neither was Malone for that matter. But they werent two guys that could strike terror into the opposition when they were playing aggresive defense. MJ and Pippen were as feared as they come. They slowed everyone down: from Barkley to Shaq, Ewing to Malone. Teams and superstars struggled against the bulls defense, and mj and pippen were the catylists.

[GloveGuy]

I'm going to have to disagree in that two superstars on the same team does not make a duo.

Let's backtrack out of basketball and think of the duos of pop culture. You have Batman and Robin, a great superhero tandem who worked together to save Gotham. We also have the Dylan and Brandon duo of Beverly Hills 90210. These two guys had great on-screen chemistry and when one left the show, their game's were salted. Those were the low points of 90210.


As a duo, Stockton and Malone worked off of each other's games better than any other duo of all time. Yes, Jordan and Pippen did their best to play off each other in the triangle, but I don't really think you can compare it to Stockalone's chemistry.

No, they didn't win a title, and that can be attributed to the fact that they only make up two of the players on the court. There's three other guys wearing the same jersey who need the ball to stay content.

Like I've already stated, I do believe that Jordan and Pippen were the better duo because the were able to complement each other on both ends of the floor, but my purpose for the last post and this current one is to give credit to the Stockton and Malone tandem who were really the best offensive duo of all time.

I also wanted to clarify what a duo, in my mind, is.

You guys (whoever you are) are still retarded for picking Kobe and Shaq.