Six-Time NBA Champion Gives Himself New Nickname After Physique Change

Pippen was a key member in the Chicago Bulls winning six championships alongside Michael Jordan in the 1990s. He is generally regarded as the first player to play the position "point forward" because of his versatility.

DID SUPER TEAMS EXIST BEFORE LEBRON JAMES?

LeBron James is often credited for creating the term "Super Team" in the NBA when he and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat in 2010.

In reality, it's happened in the league for decades. That was the case in 1982 when the Philadelphia 76ers somehow traded for reigning league MVP Moses Malone, pairing him with Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Bobby Jones and Maurice Cheeks. The Sixers also had All-Star Andrew Toney.

They finished the season 65-17 on the way to an NBA title, sweeping the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. The only team to win one game against the Sixers that postseason was the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Bucks thought they had a chance after losing to the Sixers in six games the previous season. And then the Malone trade happened.

"We were poised to beat the Sixers the next time we played in the playoffs," former Bucks forward Marques Johnson told Back In The Day Hoops On SI. "We took them to (six) games in the playoffs and then they went out and got Moses Malone. Then that became unfair."

James is unfairly blamed for trends as such when it's occurred for years. The Lakers traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo during the Showtime era.

"That's what I keep telling people," Johnson said. "The more things change, the more they remain the same. Moses wasn't going to the New Jersey Nets. He wasn't going to the bottom-feeding teams. He was going to a team he had a legitimate chance to win a championship. You credit his agent. His agent made the moves that had to be made to put him in position to play with Dr. J. You put him and Dr. J together and it's a done deal. That was a definite super team. Guys were making those moves back in the day."