A Brief Look at Scottie Pippen's Hall of Fame Career

This coming August, Scottie Pippen will achieve something he undoubtedly deserves: being enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

During his 17 seasons in the NBA, the 6'8" "point forward" was a key member of those legendary Chicago Bulls clubs that captured six titles in the 1990s.

Pippen's individual achievements include being named an All-Star seven times, making seven All-NBA Teams (three First Team selections), and earning a spot on the All-Defensive First Team eight times. Also, he was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All Time in 1996.

The following slide show will take a short peek back at the career of one of the premier defenders to ever step onto the NBA hardwood.

Pippen was selected fifth overall by the Seattle Super Sonics in the 1987 NBA Draft. He was then quickly dealt, along with a 1989 first round pick to the Bulls for Olden Polynice and two future picks.

After coming off the bench as a rookie for Chicago, Pippen became a starter in year two (1988-89). He then quickly became a star earning a trip to his first All-Star Game in 1990.

He blossomed into a household name and teamed with Michael Jordan, Horace Grant, and others to lead the Bulls to three consecutive NBA championships from 1991-1993.

Pippen was added to the roster of arguably the greatest team ever assembled, the "Original Dream Team" which won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Jordan retired in 1993, opening the door for Pippen to emerge as the Bulls' leader. Pippen enjoyed the best year of his career in 1993-94 posting career highs in scoring, rebounding, and steals, and shockingly led Chicago to the second round of the playoffs.

That same year, he also earned All-Star Game MVP honors after recording 29 points and 11 assists.

Pippen proved to the world that he was more than just Jordan's right hand man, he was fully capable of leading a team.

He later won three more titles with the Bulls (1996-1998) and picked up his second gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets in 1999 for Roy Rogers and a future second-round pick as the rebuilding Bulls looked to clear cap space for the future.

Pippen joined fellow future Hall of Famer's Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley to help the Rockets reach the postseason in his one season with the team.

He earned a spot on the 1998-99 All-Defensive First Team, and led the Rockets in three-pointers made, assists, and steals.

Pippen was traded by the Rockets to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1999 in a six-for-one swap. The Blazers gave up Walt Williams, Kelvin Cato, Carlos Rogers, Stacey Augmon, Brian Shaw, and Ed Gray in the deal.

In his first season in Portland, Pippen possibly could have won his seventh championship. The Blazers' blew a 15-point fourth quarter lead in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals vs. the Lakers.

Pippen went on to play three more seasons in Portland.

In 2003, Pippen returned to Chicago, where he would play his final season of his career. The 38-year-old appeared in just 23 games averaging nearly six points per game, which was the worst of his career.

Pippen was no longer a go-to guy in his second stint with the Bulls, however he served as a mentor to young teammates such as Kirk Hinrich, Eddy Curry, and Jamal Crawford.

After announcing his retirement in October 2004, Pippen's No. 33 was retired by the Bulls the following year.