The Scottie Pippen Awards: Top 10 Second-Best Players from NBA Champions

Scottie Pippen was probably the most celebrated "No. 2" in history. He is, on the one hand, one of the top 25-30 players in NBA history, yet he was clearly the second-best player on his team. 

It's why "Pippen" has come to mean "No. 2." To some it's taken as a derogatory term, to others an honor. This list is not intended to be a slight to anyone, but as a compliment to everyone on the list. 

I've taken the best "No. 2's" in NBA history, and ranked them 10th to first. In each case I chose the best year if they had multiple championships as a No. 2. 

The criteria were entirely subjective, so you can feel free to disagree. 

10. Shaquille O'Neal, 2006

Shaquille O'Neal averaged 18.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists during the postseason as he appropriately deferred to Dwyane Wade in 2006. Wade, meanwhile, had one of the most incredible postseason runs in NBA history. 

O'Neal had 13.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the Finals. While these numbers are below his normal standard, the Heat had a losing record when O'Neal was out of the lineup that year, which is why he earns the last spot on this list. 

9. Julius Erving, 1983

Julius Erving, AKA Dr. J. was the Pippen to Moses Malone's Jordan. 

Erving is further down than you might expect on this list. He certainly had some better postseasons, but  in the year that he won the championship he was a little worse than normal, averaging only 18.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists during the postseason. 

The Doctor was in during the Finals, though. Erving averaged 19.0 points, 8.5 boards and 5.0 assists, and he also contributed 2.8 blocks and 1.3 steals. 

8. Bob Cousy, 1957

The Boston Celtics won their first NBA Championship in 1957.

Defensively, they were led by the great Bill Russell, one of the greatest players in the history of the game. 

Offensively though, the team was led by Bob Cousy, the first truly great point guard. During the postseason Cousy averaged 20.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game. 

Certainly the Celtics were a dynasty built around the defense of Russell, but without Cousy directing the offense, they may not have been the same. 

7. Robert Parish, 1984

Robert Parish was the second to Larry Bird on the great Celtics teams of the 1980s. It's close though as to who the second actually is since you could just as easily have put Kevin McHale in that spot.

(I actually had McHale there initially, but then swapped in Parish because his numbers were a bit better.)

In the 1984 playoff run, Parish averaged 14.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game; McHale averaged 14.8 points and 6.2  boards.

In the Finals, Parish averaged 15.4 points and 11.4 boards; McHale, 13.4 and 5.9.

You can now see why I put in Parish over McHale.

However, the two—along with the clear No. 1, Larry Bird—are considered by many to be the best frontcourt in the history of the game. Take your choice between the two.  

6. David Robinson , 1999

Robinson deferred to the young Tim Duncan in 1999, and in so doing helped the San Antonio Spurs to their first-ever NBA Championship. Robinson averaged 15.6 points, 9.9 boards and 2.5 assists during the postseason and also had a ridiculous defensive rating of 87.0

During the Finals Robinson averaged 16.6 points, 11.8 boards, 2.4 assists, 1.0 steals and 3.0 blocks while the young Tim Duncan garnered MVP honors. It was Robinson's willingness to do the dirty work and let Duncan take the limelight that was the reason the Spurs won their first championship. 

It is a testament to his influence that Duncan took a similar step this year, allowing Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili take the reins of the offense. 

5. Walt Frazier, 1970

Walt Frazier had a nice postseason in 1970 until the final game.

Then he had a great one, perhaps the greatest Game 7 in NBA history.

Frazier averaged 16.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists during the postseason as a whole. He had 17.6 points, 7.7 boards and 10.4 assists during the Finals.

But where things went really crazy was when the team's star player, Willis Reed, had to leave the game after making the first two baskets. 

Frazier went straight-up sick on the Lakers, putting up 36 points, 19 assists and seven rebounds in the last game to clinch the series for the Knicks.

4. Scottie Pippen, 1992

Well there he is, at the No. 4 spot. The most recognized No. 2 in NBA history had his best postseason in 1992.

During the playoffs, Pippen averaged 19.5 points, 8.8 boards and 6.7 assists. 

Pippen averaged a hearty 20.8 points, 8.3 boards and 7.7 assists in the Finals, and contributed 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks defensively. In Game 5, Pippen just missed a triple-double with 24 points, 11 boards and nine assists. 

People often fail to realize just how valuable Pippen was to those Bulls teams of the 1990s. Michael Jordan truly did not do it alone. 

3. Karem Abdul-Jabbar, 1985

In 1985, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was no longer the No. 1 player on the Lakers as the young Magic Johnson won the MVP award that year.

That's not to say that Kareem wasn't still quite the player, though. He still averaged 21.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists during the postseason. 

Abdul-Jabbar also led the team in scoring during the Finals, scoring 25.7 points per game and adding 9.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He won the Finals MVP for his efforts.

2. Kobe Bryant, 2002

The 2002 Kobe Bryant averaged 26.6 points, 5.8 boards and 4.6 assists during the postseason. He also averaged 26.8 points, 5.8 boards and 5.3 assists during the Finals.

As impressive as those numbers were, Shaquille O'Neal still had the more dominant series, averaging 36.3 points during the Finals. 

However, as the games were drawing to a close and O'Neal's atrocious free-throw shooting was a liability, more and more the Lakers turned to Bryant down the stretch, and he helped to put the Lakers over the top.

However, that being said, it should be mentioned that there was really only one game that was close.

Furthermore, when the Nets did try the "hack-a-Shaq" methods, he made his free throws.

1. Magic Johnson, 1980

In 1980 it was a slightly different matter.

The veteran Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the leader of the team and the MVP of the league, but the young rookie, Magic Johnson, was the hope of the future.

Johnson very nearly averaged a triple-double during the postseason with 18.3 points, 10.5 boards and 9.4 assists through 16 games. 

In the Finals he got even better, scoring 21.5 points and adding 11.2 boards and 8.7 assists. He also had 2.7 steals per game defensively. 

None of that was why he won the Finals MVP, though.

Magic started as the center in Game 6 and during the course of the game played every single position. He scored 42 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had seven assists.

Not too shabby for a 20-year-old rookie, huh?

That's why Magic Johnson completes the Lakers' sweep of the top three spots in the rankings.