Scottie Pippen is one of the greatest players to ever do it and widely regarded as one Hall of Famer who can translate in any era of basketball. But the Chicago Bulls icon knows it'll be tougher to find the same level of success that he had in the nineties if his prime self was transported to the modern day.

Pippen himself admitted such during his brief broadcasting stint during the Los Angeles Lakers-Charlotte Hornets NBA Summer League game as he watched his son Scottie Pippen Jr. He was asked whether he thought NBA players today are better than the ones back in his era:

“I would say yes. I think that watching these players, the stamina, just the pace of the game. This is a tough game. I mean to keep up with this pace – and you've got to be able to make shots. If you're not making shots, you'll be sitting over there with the coach.”

The shotmaking in the modern game has indeed become next-level. While there have been amazing scorers that have come and gone in previous decades, the level of offensive talent is arguably at its peak in today's game. The big reason? Scottie Pippen believes it's the shooting movement spearheaded by Stephen Curry and co. that's forced every player up and down the roster to have an outside shot:

“I think this is a tougher era to be successful because you need to be able to shoot the basketball. Bottomline. There's guy that can get to the hole and create opportunities. But the guys that can shoot the basketball from range are much more valuable in today's game,” Pippen added.

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Together with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the Bulls ran amuck the NBA during the nineties en route to six championships. He knows what it means to play at the highest level of the game, which means his judgment is as good as anybody's when it comes to assessing that today's players are even better.

But it's hard to imagine that his teammate in Michael Jordan would agree. He's been on record for saying that most modern NBA stars wouldn't cut it in his era. But he's also been vocal about it being near impossible to compare eras – which makes the debate truly one forever to be left up in the air.