Pippen full of praise for NBL

Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen has praised the physicality of the NBL and says the competition has done well to establish itself as a feeder league into the NBA.

Pippen won six titles as a member of the Chicago Bulls and is about to embark on the national ‘No Bull’ tour with fellow former NBA champions Luc Longley and Horace Grant.

Speaking on ‘The Project’, Pippen says the style of play in the NBL is more similar to his era, with the added physicality.

“I think they’ve (the NBL) established their own presence in the game, I think they’ve tried to bend a little bit to follow the NBA with their rules, but I think they’ve kept their game more competitive, more physical,” Pippen said.

“... which is something that has sort of been lost in most leagues that try to promote more scoring instead of having so much physicality in the game.

“That’s what I think this league is really able to give a look at what basketball used to be like, and tougher basketball. When the game is physical, it becomes a different game than the free shooting we see in the NBA game, because they promote more scoring.

“I also think the NBL has established itself as a feeder league into the NBA, so we have a lot of young players now that are considering coming here to play against real, professional, grown men and preparing them for the next level.

“[It’s] a lot more competitive than college basketball.”

The first leg of the No Bull tour will kick off in Hobart on Friday night before travelling to Melbourne and Sydney.

The opening game of the NBL 24 post-season will tip off on Wednesday night when the JackJumpers and Hawks clash in the Seeding Qualifier.