To this, the answer is an emphatic "NO!"
I issued this challenge on Usenet: Name one player whose career was enhanced by Jordan. I never received a serious challenge. Let’s look at some of the candidates.
Scottie Pippen – The press love to sing long
songs about Jordan made Pippen. However, their songs are missing a few verses. For
example. Why did Pippen have his finest seasons without Jordan? In 1994, Pippen averaged
22 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 5.6 apg. In 1995, Pippen became only the second player in history
(Dave Cowens was the first) to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and
steals. How could he do this without Jordan to make him better?
Furthermore, when deciding to retire, Jordan
said over and over that he would not play without Pippen. While recovering from foot
surgery in December of 1997, Pippen said that he was not going to play with the Bulls when
he was fully recovered. Jordan said that if he had known this, he would not have come
back. Why? If Jordan makes everyone so much better, why not fill in Scott Burrell into
Pippen’s position (or Toni Kukoc, for that matter), and make another Pippen? Answer:
Jordan didn’t make Pippen. Pippen made Pippen. Without Jordan, he is still the
dominating defensive player, and he continues to be a complete player.
Dennis Rodman – Rodman had established himself LONG before playing with Jordan. His defensive reputation was made in Detroit, where he was voted the Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and 91. His rebounding ability was established in Detroit, also, where he won the first of his seven consecutive rebounding titles (4 without Jordan), and his reputation as a winner was established in Detroit, where he won two titles – both times defeating Jordan’s Bulls.
Luc Longley – Put simply, Longley was a bad player before he joined the Bulls. He was a bad player when he played with the Bulls, and he was a bad player after he left the Bulls. Nobody has questioned Jason Kidd’s ability to improve his teammates, and even he hasn’t been able to coax out respectable play from Longley. If eight points and 5 rebounds is what you want out of your center, then Longley is your man, but you don’t need Jordan to get this out of him.
John Paxson – This is the guy that most Jordan fans bring up. Paxson was on the perfect team in Chicago (perhaps the only team he could get significant minutes with), but his career blossomed because of Pippen, not Jordan. Jordan did not like playing point guard, and Phil Jackson didn’t like him playing point guard. Jordan didn’t pass enough and turned the ball over too much, to be a full-time point guard. However, Jordan didn’t like point guards who were the classic "drive-and-dish" style points. He disliked playing with Sam Vincent and Steve Colter for this very reason. When Jordan came back in 1995, he had problems playing with B.J. Armstrong, who drove more during Jordan’s absence.
When Phil Jackson took over as coach, he made Pippen a point forward, and this allowed Paxson to fill in as a spot-up shooter, since Paxson lacked the skills to play the point, and the defensive ability and height to play the shooting guard. If Pippen were not able to play the point from the forward position, Paxson could not have started. Either Jordan would have had to have played the point -- in which case, Paxson lacked the size and defensive ability to be a shooting guard, or else, the Bulls would have had to play a classic point guard, and Paxson lacked those skills. That is why he couldn’t fit on any other team – not because they didn't have a Jordan-type of player (Clyde Drexler filled the Jordan role in Portland – but Paxson could not have filled in adequately for Terry Porter), but because Pippen filled the point role. The only other team that Paxson could have fit on was Milwaukee, who was using Paul Pressey as a point forward and Alvin Robertson as a shooting guard...and that's probably why Craig Hodges, a similar type of player, got significant minutes there.
Steve Kerr – See John Paxson. Furthermore, Kerr had established himself as one the top 3 point shooter in history (percentage-wise) and set a record for best 3 point shooting percentage (from the long distance) in a season (1989-90). Considering this, and how he filled in for Mark Price when Price was injured in Cleveland, I ask, what Jordan did differently for his career? Furthermore, Kerr joined the Bulls in 1993-94 and had his best season -- that was the year that Jordan missed due to retirement. Pippen made Kerr better, just like he made Paxson better.
This point was further proven in 1994 and 1995.
