Michael Jordan is widely considered by many to be the greatest all-around player in NBA history. If you asked most people to come up with the best starting five of all-time, most of them would build the lineup around Jordan. Karl Malone is not most people.
During an interview with “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday, Malone spoke about LeBron James and some of the greatest players who have ever played the game. When asked to name his all-time starting five, Malone took John Stockton and Oscar Robertson as his guards, Wilt Chamberlain at center, LeBron at power forward and Scottie Pippen at small forward. Pippen and no Jordan — really?
“Scottie Pippen led the team in every statistical category while he was there without Michael Jordan,” Malone explained. “That’s why I have to put him there. So now you know.”
But when Jordan was there, the Bulls won six NBA championships. In fairness to Malone, the best starting five is not the same as the top five players of all time. His top five players could all be centers for all we know. That being said, it would have been an acceptable answer to put MJ at small forward or shooting guard. Robertson and Pippen over Jordan is crazy.
Malone’s answer would be surprising if he didn’t say the exact same thing in an interview last year. For whatever reason, he loves Pippen and refuses to give Jordan the same amount of credit everyone else gives him. Toward the end of the interview, Malone also admitted that he has a “man crush” on LeBron James. If he has a crush on LeBron, he must be in love with Scottie.
