CHICAGO, IL - JULY 3: Charles Barkley signs an autograph as Scottie Pippen waves to fans following the US Olympic basketball team practice at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, 03 July. The team concludes practice on 05 July and begins a pre-Olympic exhibition tour of the US. (Photo credit should read TIM ZIELENBACH/AFP via Getty Images)
A six-time NBA champion, seven-time NBA All-Star and USA Basketball Olympic gold medalist, we know Scottie Pippen as the man next to the man in Michael Jordan during their legendary championship runs guided by Phil Jackson and alongside Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Ron Harper and Steve Kerr.
After spending 11 seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Pippen, who at the time was the franchise’s second all-time leader in points, assists, and steals, was traded in 1998 to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Roy Rogers and a 2nd round pick in the 2000 NBA draft who became Jake Voskuhl.
During his time in Houston, Pippen was teamed with Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley.
Apparently, Scottie Pippen almost became teammates with Silkk The Shocker.
“I don’t know if you are familiar with my basketball side of it,” Silkk The Shocker told Daniel Artest, Truck Bryant, Ryan Hollins, Ben Doody and myself in a discussion via Heavy on Lakers recently.
Silkk The Shocker was a successful 90s and 2000s rapper and actor signed under No Limit Records.
In 1999, his Made Man album went certified platinum by the RIAA after selling over 3.5 million records in the United States and 5 million copies worldwide.
Silkk the Shocker is the uncle to Romeo Miller. He’s also the brother of hip hop mogul, Master P. Master P has a longtime connection with the NBA. In 1998, he was signed to a preseason contract by the Charlotte Hornets. In 1999, he got a similar deal with the Raptors. He never appeared in an NBA game, however. He had a brief stint in the CBA, with the Fort Wayne Fury, as well as in the International Basketball League and the American Basketball Association. He appeared in the NBA’s Celebrity Game over All-Star weekend twice, in 2008 and 2017. “I was really good coming up,” said Silkk the Shocker.
“Even with the Houston team [Rockets] I was around them all the time and they softly offered me a contract with the Houston team. But, what they were offering I could make that in one show. If I would have known what I know now, I probably would have did it, and signed it just to say I did it.
That’s a big deal!
Playing alongside Hakeem Olajuwon truly is the dream no pun intended! A U.S. Olympic gold medalist, Hakeem Olajuwon played in the NBA for 17 seasons mostly for the Rockets. One of the 50 Greatest NBA players of All Time and arguably one of the top five centers in the league with the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Russell, Olajuwon won two NBA Championships while with the Rockets.
The way his game was poetry in motion, Olajuwon averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game during his NBA career.
“I was with them all the time,” recounts Silkk The Shocker. “Summer time. [Scottie] Pippen, [Hakeem] Olajuwon all of them we played. I was playing at high level, I just didn’t take it seriously.”