During his rookie year, Pippen was playing as a back up for Brad Sellers and Charles Oakley, and it was the veteran players like Oakley that pointed him in the right direction. Pippen specifically mentioned Charles Oakley and lesser-known Sedale Threatt, who played as a combo-guard for the Bulls as players who he studied and saw what they were doing to be true professionals. Threatt who had a long NBA career was a real “gym-rat,” according to Pippen, and he knew playing the NBA is a privilege, so he made sure he was prepared at all times. “I have to give credit to a lot of veteran players that I played with, too, that toughened me up early, like Charles Oakley. Having the opportunity to play with a guy like Sedale Threatt, who is the epitome of the gym rat. A lot of their habits rubbed off on me, even bad habits too, but you try to hold those down. Those were things that really helped develop me as a player.”