Former Chicago Bulls superstar small forward Scottie Pippen has issued a harsh projection for the Luka Doncic-era Los Angeles Lakers' championship upside.
MORE NEWS: Bulls' Scottie Pippen gets candid about Michael Jordan relationship
Pippen recently sat down with Jorge Quiroga of Marca to talk about his Chicago glory days as well as his perceived ceiling for Doncic.
🚨 ENTREVISTA MARCA a Scottie Pippen
— MARCA (@marca) September 24, 2025
💥 La leyenda de la NBA y del baloncesto mundial se sincera: "Mi relación con Michael Jordan nunca fue muy cercana"
✍️ Por @jorge_jquiroga https://t.co/miXxmPE33U
Pippen was a two-way juggernaut. One of the original NBA point forwards, Pippen and fellow Hall of Famer Michael Jordan served as Chicago's non-traditional, oversized ball handlers — much like the 6-foot-6 Doncic is now — well thriving within head coach Phil Jackson's beloved triangle offense.
Pippen played in a different basketball landscape
"Basketball in the late 1980s and early 1990s was as physical as it got," Pippen said. "It's not the same today; the hard fouls they used to be aren't allowed anymore. Teams played with a different mentality."
It's likely that, playing under today's rules, Pippen would have career averages of far more than the 16.1 points on .473/.326/.704 shooting splits, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks he averaged across 1,178 regular season bouts.
"Over the last 15 or 20 years, offense has been promoted more. They changed the rules to increase scoring," Pippen said. "But it's been good for the game. Big players now shoot three-pointers. There are no longer pure centers. The game is positionless now; it's more open, more shot-based."
MORE NEWS: Bulls urged to trade for rim-protecting center this offseason
When it comes to Doncic, Pippen was fairly pessimistic about the 26-year-old's chances of coming out of the Western Conference again, despite him already having achieved that with the Dallas Mavericks in 2024.
"I don't know. His style of play got him to the Finals," Pippen acknowledged. "But I'm not sure if that style will get him there again. It was a unique feat, but when they got to the Finals, they didn't have much."
Doncic was certainly a heliocentric offensive force with Dallas, but it's not like his fellow All-Star guard on the roster, future Hall of Famer Kyrie Irving, was chopped liver. The Duke product did struggle to score a bit against All-Defensive Team Boston Celtics guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, yes, but he still had a solid run.
"As I've said, basketball is a team sport. One player alone doesn't make you win," Pippen said. "You need soldiers, warriors, players who will sacrifice. No matter who you have, you need a team."
Pippen evidently doesn't think much of star Doncic teammates LeBron James or Austin Reaves, and seems to not believe in Lakers role players Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, Jake LaRavia, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and Maxi Kleber.
MORE NEWS:
- Bulls cut rookie shooting guard as training camp nears
- Patrick Beverley utters bold take on former Bulls star
- Bulls still in running for Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga, insider reveals
- Blockbuster 3-team Bulls trade idea sees Chicago ditch fan favorite star