Basketball Zeus aside (cough LeBron), who is the NBA’s best-ever 2-way small forward?
NBA All Defense: Pippen 10, Havlicek 8
Peak points Per Game: Pippen 22.0 (1994), Havlicek 28.9 (1971),
Peak rebounds Per Game: Pippen 8.7 (1994), Havlicek 9.0 (1971),
Peak Assists Per Game: Pippen 7.0 (1992), Havlicek 7.5 (1971)
Basketball Hall-of fame writer Jack McCallum writes of Havlicek: “Think of a slightly shorter version of Pippen, just as versatile, just as indefatigable and a better scorer. Oh yeah, he has eight rings.” McCallum ranks Havlicek at 22 and Pippen at 23 all-time.
I give Pippen an edge on D and Havlicek the edge on O, but overall you can respect either choice.