The Chicago Bulls announced plans to unveil a bronze statue of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen today. It will be in the United Center by the end of this season.
“Not only is Scottie Pippen one of the greatest players to ever wear a Bulls uniform, but he’s among the best players in history of the league to play the game,” said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “He had a tremendous impact in bringing six world championships to Chicago and there is no better way to pay tribute to him than with a permanent statue that honors his inspirational career.”
The statue will be crafted by Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany of Highland Park, Ill., who also sculpted the famous Michael Jordan statue which was unveiled in January 1994 in conjunction with Jordan’s No. 23 jersey retirement.
“Words really can’t express my feelings,” Pippen said.
“It’s an unbelievable honor and truly amazing. It’s something you dream of as a kid growing up, but you can never foresee those childhood fantasies becoming reality. You see statues of individuals who have done great things and made their mark on history, but as a basketball player, you never really think about arriving at this point. It’s an amazing honor for the Chicago Bulls to do this for me.”
Pippen was informed of the news the same week that he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In his first year of eligibility, Pippen was inducted on Aug. 13 as an individual player and as a member of the 1992 Dream Team which won the gold medal in the Barcelona Summer Olympics.
In July, the Bulls named Pippen as an ambassador for the organization. In this capacity, he will attend a majority of Bulls home games and spend time with fans and sponsors. Additionally, Pippen will also participate in a variety of team related events throughout the year, write a monthly column on Bulls.com and make appearances on BullsTV via Bulls.com.