Over the past few months, Scottie Pippen hasn’t held back in sharing his true feelings on former Chicago Bulls teammate Michael Jordan. Pippen has been adamant about his displeasure with Jordan’s involvement in the ESPN docuseries The Last Dance, which (to many) seemed to be the launching point for his critiques. And since then, he’s also shared comments on his on-court partner’s impact on the game. Now, Pippen is throwing some more shade at his colleague, as he believes he once could’ve bested Jordan in another sport.
Many probably know by now that in 1993, His Airness retired from the game in order to pursue a career in professional baseball. Though he has a love for both that sport and basketball, there’s another that truly serves as his obsession -- golf. The Jordan Brand founder has been playing the game for decades now and, these days, you’re probably more likely to see him out on the putting green than on the court.
Of course, Michael Jordan’s competitive nature expands to the golf course, and Scottie Pippen’s recent comments to Golf.com back that up. During the discussion, Pippen was asked to confirm whether Jordan brought him a set of golf clubs during his rookie year, only so he could hustle him on the course. Not only did the hall of famer back up the claims, but he also added some bold thoughts on how the game would’ve played out:
That is all true. And he’s lucky that I had a bad back my rookie year. I would have beat him at golf, too. But we’ve never played a round of golf together.
Those are some strong words on his part, though he seems incredibly confident. However, during the same interview, the former small forward was asked how he would fare against his fellow Chicago Bull today. And on that front, he didn’t seem quite so sure:
Oh, I don’t know. My game is not all that right now.
I’d personally be just as nervous to square off with Michael Jordan on a golf course than I would on a court. As previously mentioned, he still has that intense competitive nature, and he’s hard to beat when he’s at the top of his game. Plus, I should also mention that I haven’t picked up a club in well over a decade. So please believe me when I say that I’m terribly rusty.
All things considered, this is one of the more tame things Scottie Pippen has said about his teammate as of late. Through his new memoir, Unguarded, he shared blunt thoughts on The Last Dance, saying that the Space Jam star used his editorial power to “glorify” himself instead of highlighting his teammates. Pippen also believes that the man known as Air Jordan wanted to “prove to the current generation of fans that he was larger-than-life during his day—and still larger than LeBron James.” He also took it a step further by saying that his partner in crime “ruined basketball” by causing subsequent generations of players to shift from team-oriented play.
The former NBA All Star apparently hasn’t spoken to Michael Jordan since the polarizing docuseries aired, and there’s no telling if they’ll patch things up. Chicago Bulls and general basketball fans alike, who watched them play beautifully together for years, are surely keeping their hopes up. Who knows, maybe the two can find some common ground during a game of golf.
