In a recent conversation with Patrick Bet-David, Scottie Pippen reflected on the impact that social media could have had during his time as an NBA player. Bet-David highlighted the impressive reach of Cristiano Ronaldo on Instagram, where he has 647 million followers, and posed an interesting hypothesis: "How big would it have been if social media existed when you guys were playing? Maybe Dennis Rodman would have had the most followers, who knows?".
Pippen responded with a perspective that emphasizes the differences between eras: "It would have been different. Definitely, looking at these numbers, you don't know how as a player who played in the 90s, these numbers come up and what they really mean, because we didn't grow up in this social media era." However, he acknowledged the global reach of figures like Ronaldo: "Definitely, from who you're talking about, Ronaldo is one of the best players and one of the best athletes in the world, and those 647 million speak for themselves".
The conversation then shifted to the figure of Michael Jordan and the possibility that he too would have had a massive impact in the age of social media. Bet-David directly asked if Jordan would have reached a similar level to Ronaldo in terms of followers. Without hesitation, Pippen replied: "I think he probably would have doubled it, to be honest".
This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Scottie Pippen: "Michael Jordan tendría el doble de fans que Cristiano Ronaldo en Instagram"