Recently, former Chicago Bulls star and Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen made a controversial statement about Los Angeles Lakers stalwart LeBron James.
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith took Pippen to task for what he felt was a false claim.
With all due respect my brother, that is ridiculous. D-Wade and Chris Bosh (Miami), Kyrie and Kevin Love (Cleveland) and Anthony Davis (Lakers). WTH is the matter with you? You know basketball. You’re a 6-time champion. How can you utter such Blasphemy? https://t.co/rLbW0kFFDl
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 25, 2021
To be fair, there is little, if any, truth to what Pippen said. James has had a tremendous amount of help for each of his four NBA championships.
With the Miami Heat, he had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The latter is already in the Hall of Fame, and the former will surely get in as a first-ballot candidate.
During his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Akron, Ohio native had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love by his side.
Of course, during his last two seasons with the Purple and Gold, James has enjoyed the splendid services of Anthony Davis.
But none of the above should be misconstrued as an indictment against James.
After all, Kobe Bryant needed Shaquille O’Neal and Pau Gasol, Michael Jordan needed Pippen and Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar needed each other.
In sports, as in life in general, everybody needs help to achieve success.
