You can make an argument that there have never been more superstars in the NBA than there are today. While the Chicago Bulls find themselves in a rebuild period of sorts, for a long stretch during the 1990s, they were the team harboring those superstars, with guys like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman helping lead them on a dynastic run.
Nowadays, stars are coming from all over the world, with two of the league’s best players, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Doncic, hailing from Europe. Both guys have helped revolutionize the modern game of basketball, but Pippen recently revealed that he doesn’t know if either player would have had as much success if they played in the league during the 80s and 90s.
Scottie Pippen Drops Truth Bomb on Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic
Over the years, the game of basketball has gone through many changes. If you watch highlights of a game from the 1980s or 90s and highlights of a game from the 2024-25 campaign, the style of play is completely different. As such, one of the top questions fans often wonder is whether players from one era would excel in another era.
Pippen is one guy whose skill set would likely make him a star in any era. A dominant two-way player, Pippen could do a little bit of everything on the court, as he was a key secondary scorer behind Jordan during their run with the Bulls, while also playing lockdown defense on the other side of the ball.
Jokic and Doncic have turned themselves into two of the most well-rounded players in the league, and they have helped change the style of play in the NBA. However, Pippen doesn’t know how they’d fare during his era in the league, as he believes the higher level of physicality and quicker pace of play may have made things more difficult for them.
“I don’t know if they could dominate,” Pippen admitted in an interview with Marca. “In the 80s and 90s we used to press all over the field. Could Jokic bring the ball up against such pressure? I don’t know. Sure, he can see the court and pass very well. But I don’t know if he would be comfortable bringing the ball up from the back with that pressure.”
Would Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic Have Starred in the NBA During the 80s and 90s?
GettyNikola Jokic with Luka Doncic.
While they play different positions, Jokic and Doncic are similar players. They can both score, rebound, and pass at will, with the main difference being that Jokic is a superior defender to Doncic. Both guys thrive when creating pockets of space on offense, which gives them ample time to make their next move. As Pippen notes, would they have had the sort of time they enjoy in the current iteration of the NBA had they played during the 80s or 90s?
Given that the league focused far less on threes during this era, Jokic and Doncic would have had to drastically alter their playstyles in order to fit the mold of the game. Centers didn’t typically pass like Jokic does, and guards didn’t take as many shots as Doncic does. Pippen raises a good point, but ultimately, it’s best to focus on what both Jokic and Doncic are doing currently, rather than wonder about how their game translates to different eras of the NBA.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Scottie Pippen’s Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic Admission Turns Heads appeared first on Heavy Sports.