Scottie Pippen was the unexpected star of the first two episodes of ESPN’s The Last Dance. The Michael Jordan documentary, featuring never-before-seen footage, chronicled the 1997/98 season of the Chicago Bulls and what ended up being MJ’s sixth and final NBA Championship.
Pippen was given some of the limelight when The Last Dance aired on April 19. The docu-series outlined his importance to the ’90s Chicago Bulls and their championship runs, and gave insight into his family and life off of the court. Among basketball fans, it’s generally accepted that Scottie Pippen was the Robin to Michael Jordan’s Batman, and that he played an enormously important role in helping MJ achieve GOAT status. In The Last Dance, Pippen is described as being “the best second star of all time.”
What many people forget, though, is that Pippen was a mega star in his own right and — just like MJ had his line of Air Jordans — Pippen wore an incredible rotation of some of Nike’s most popular basketball shoes of that era, some of which are still produced and sold today. With that in mind, we've rounded up the best sneakers Pippen wore on court.
8. Nike Air Flight ’89
The Nike Air Flight ’89 had a design that was slightly based on the Air Jordan 4 and is one of Pippen’s sneakers that has endured the test of time, still available on occasion over 30 years later. Pippen was one of the faces of the model when it was first released in 1989.
7. Nike Air Pippen
Pippen got his first signature sneaker in 1996 for the 96/97 season. The sneaker featured a full-length Air Max sole, though Pippen wore his with a modified Zoom Air sole, the cushioning system he preferred.
6. Nike Air Max Uptempo
The Nike Air Max Uptempo was the precursor to the Air More Uptempo and the first basketball sneaker to feature a full-length visible Air Max unit. Pippen wore the model during the 1996 NBA All-Star Game in San Antonio.
5. Nike Air Pippen 2
Pippen’s second signature sneaker was designed by Aaron Cooper and featured Zoom Air, the athlete’s preferred cushioning system. The design was similar to other basketball shoes of the era, featuring a bulky shape and a wavy number 33 graphic along both the lateral and medial sides.
4. Nike Air Maestro
Pippen wore the Air Maestro in the early ’90s alongside a host of other models. The sneaker was designed by Tracy Teague and was even reworked by Ronnie Fieg in 2017.
3. Nike Air Swift
Pippen wore the Nike Air Swift during the ’94 season and famously wrote “4PEAT” along the side of the shoe in black marker during the playoffs, as the Chicago Bulls were looking to win their fourth straight NBA title. That, of course, never happened, but Pippen did have an epic dunk and staredown over Patrick Ewing in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks.
2. Nike Air Flight Huarache
In the early ’90s, Pippen opted for a number of sneakers, one of which was the Air Flight Huarache. It was based on the revolutionary Air Huarache running shoe, which debuted in 1991, and was adjusted for performance basketball needs.
1. Nike Air More Uptempo
The Nike Air More Uptempo is, hands down, Pippen’s most popular shoe, which is still sold to this day and was even the subject of a Supreme collaboration. Pippen wore the sneaker during the Bulls’ legendary 72-10 season, as well as during the 1996 Olympics.
Watch Pippen discuss some of his most iconic sneaker models on ESPN below
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