I know I phrased that as a Make-Em-Mad Special... but I've seen the name "Pippen" thrown around a lot. People are acting like AD is just riding Bron's coattails to a title because AD joined Bron's team.

But it's not like the Lakers were special last year even *with* Bron. Yes, the Lakers were 9-18 without Bron last year... but they were 28-27 *with* Bron last year. So it's not like AD hopped in on some superteam. It wasn't a superteam until AD arrived.

But how many times did Pippen average more points per game than Jordan?
How many times did Pippen average more points per game than Jordan *in the playoffs*?
How many times did Pippen have more win shares and a higher win share per 48 than Jordan?

Davis is the better defender.
Davis creates more turnovers.
Davis has the higher PER.
Davis has the higher true shooting percentage.
Davis is the better free throw shooter (and shoots more free throws).

Of all the things I just mentioned (PPG, PPG in playoffs, win shares, win shares per 48, defense, turnover creation, true shooting percentage, free throw shooting)... Pippen wasn't notably better than Jordan at *any* of those, and Jordan was definitely notably better than Pippen at most of those.

I'm not saying Davis is better than Bron, necessarily-- Bron is easily the better playmaker, has the higher VORP, etc.-- but it's a looooot more evenly matched between them than people act like when they call AD the "Pippen."

Cuz if Pippen scored more points per game in the playoffs than Jordan, and Pippen was a better defender than Jordan, then referring to second bananas as "Pippens" wouldn't be a thing.