Greatness recognises greatness

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Andrew Gaze could not contain his excitement at the presence of Scottie Pippen on Sunday.

One of the great conundrums of the NBA in the 1990s was how you defend Scottie Pippen, but Andrew Gaze may have found the answer – only two decades too late.

Six-time NBA champion Pippen was courtside at the opening game of the NBL24 season and witnessed Throwdown XXI between Melbourne and South East Melbourne.

The Chicago Bulls legend made his way to the commentary desk with Gaze and Jack Heverin, where former San Antonio Spur Gaze made his familiarity with Pippen well known to viewers.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Andrew Gaze was loving having Scottie Pippen on the commentary desk so much that he could have been called for a holding foul ? <a href="https://t.co/QAFvSnoXaG">pic.twitter.com/QAFvSnoXaG</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1707689928791134626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“When I went back to watch the game there was a lot of touching from Andrew Gaze,” ESPN Insider Olgun Uluc said.

“He was as excited as all of us in that arena that Scottie Pippen was there.

“All eyes were on the NBL, and it seemed like the entire sporting community in Australia had their eyes on that Throwdown.”

Following his attendance at the opening game of the NBL season, Pippen made his way to both the AFL and NRL Grand Finals, where he witnessed Collingwood and Penrith lift their respective titles.

“It was a great atmosphere and I thought the fans were very enthusiastic,” Pippen told Channel 7 at the AFL Grand Final.

“I thought the basketball was great and very competitive.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scottie Pippen is in the building for the AFL Grand Final representing the NBL ?<br><br>? via <a href="https://twitter.com/7AFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@7AFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/teVvTrVe9Z">pic.twitter.com/teVvTrVe9Z</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1707960480038527268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>