As a member of the Chicago Bulls during the ‘80s and ‘90s, Scottie Pippen helped take the basketball world by storm. These days, though, he’s been making waves through the landscape in a different way, as he’s been in a somewhat one-sided feud of sorts with former teammate Michael Jordan. Following the release of The Last Dance, Pippen has shared a number of blunt thoughts on his old colleague, even going so far as to say that he “ruined” the sport. The honest comments have drawn responses from a number of notable ballers, including many former Bulls players. Now, another major name from that Chicago team has entered the chat – Dennis Rodman.
The eccentric (but somewhat reclusive) Dennis Rodman rarely speaks on matters such as these. However, during a recent Q&A, the hall of fame power forward was asked about the situation. Those who know him are surely aware that he rarely minces words and, here, he provided some honest (and mostly restrained) thoughts when asked if Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan had a rough relationship, as alleged in the former’s memoir:
The book, I don’t know what to say about that. I lived with those guys for four years, and I never saw that. But I just think Scottie is so hurt, because he wants to get that recognition with Michael. Because he grew up with Mike and that whole 11 years they played together with each other, and he [disliked] the fact that Michael got $10 million for that documentary, he got nothing. I didn’t care about getting shit. I didn’t care about the money. … That’s between [Michael] and Scottie.
Dennis Rodman seemed to have somewhat mixed feelings on the conflict between his two on-court partners, though he did go on to mention that he believes people will buy the book, Unguarded, simply to see what’s said about Michael Jordan. One thing that Rodman did make clear during the discussion (via LifeSpeaks Media) was his respect for Scottie Pippen and his impact on basketball, which he believes is very evident today:
I love Scottie, Scottie revolutionized that position. He revolutionized the position, you know, point-forward, he did, even though Michael Jordan was point-forward. But Scottie was that lanky, six-foot, nine [inch] guy that could just come down and beat you on a dribble, one, two dunk off the fastbreak. A lot of guys couldn’t do that back then. I mean, literally just one, two dunk. And Scottie has made these young kids today look good.
The basketball and pop culture icon would go on to mention contemporary players like Ben Simmons and Giannis Antetokounmpo as those who have benefitted from his comrade’s legacy. He’s not the only Bulls player to shower praise on Scottie Pippen, either. Toni Kukoc called him his favorite teammate, as the two worked closely with Pippen after the Jordan Brand founder retired in favor of baseball.
There have been some, however, who have been a bit more critical of his recent comments, though. Charles Barkley clapped back at the Arkansas native of “big-game hunting” in order to sell copies of his book. Former Chicago Bull Scott Williams called Michael Jordan the better teammate while claiming that Jordan is more likely to keep in touch with friends. Charles Oakley was a bit more diplomatic and praised both of his former basketball brothers, though he believes the feud goes beyond the ESPN docuseries. He seems to think it’s the result of a specific incident that occurred during their days as players.
Scottie Pippen has reportedly not spoken to Michael Jordan since The Last Dance aired, and there’s been no indication as to whether they’ll bury the hatchet. Given his recent sentiments, maybe Dennis Rodman could play peacemaker. I mean, stranger things have happened, right?
The Last Dance is currently available to stream on Netflix and ESPN+.
