With the release of his new memoir, Scottie Pippen has been sharing some brutally honest thoughts, with many particularly aimed at former teammate Michael Jordan. Pippen has chastised Jordan for a number of reasons at this point, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. But if anything, his recent comments seem to shed more light on the relationship between the two NBA legends during their playing careers -- well, at least how Pippen viewed it. Now, the Arkansas native has some more thoughts, which include a mention of Jordan’s short-lived baseball career.
In 1993, following the murder of his father, the Space Jam star chose to retire from the game of basketball. He then shocked the sports world when he announced that he would be pursuing a career in baseball, a dream that his father once had for him. Though he would later return to the NBA in 1995. Scottie Pippen made reference to Jordan’s time on the outfield when speaking on the nature of their relationship. Based on Pippen’s comments, the two stars weren’t exactly close off the court, even after winning three NBA championships:
So what makes you think that our relationship is close? You know Michael Jordan left the Bulls in 1994 and went to play baseball. What makes you think our relationship was close after we just won three championships?
Those who’ve been keeping up with the former small forward’s comments surely know that one of his biggest issues stems from ESPN’s widely-watched (and heavily debated) docuseries, The Last Dance. In his new book, Unguarded, the star confirmed that he was unhappy with how the show turned out and blasted the Jordan Brand founder for allegedly using his editorial power to “glorify” himself and not shine a light on his teammates. Though during the same interview with Chicago’s WGN 9, the author and former player did seem to indicate that the show shed light on the true nature of his relationship with his ex-teammate:
As I stated, when the documentary came out, no one questioned me and Michael’s relationship. But all of a sudden you question it now. The documentary really put out that we are not what was seen on the basketball court. You know Scottie Pippen was not part of that documentary.
Over the past few weeks, the legendary player has also accused his on-court partner of using the ESPN series 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 previously revealed that he has spoken to “His Airness” since the doc aired, during which he shared his problems with the project. And apparently, they haven’t spoken since.
Other basketball greats have dropped some opinions on Scottie Pippen’s various thoughts. Former Houston Rocket and current analyst Kenny Smith was diplomatic, though he asserted that the documentary “wasn’t a fictitious story.” His Inside the NBA colleague, Charles Barkley, was a bit more blunt, as he stated his belief that Pippen is only sharing these takes in order to help his book sales. Barkley also takes issue with the way in which the Chicago icon chose to air his views, asserting that “you want to say these things, just say them, don’t put them in a book.”
At this point, you have to wonder if there’s anything else Scottie Pippen can possibly say about his former colleagues or the documentary. He’s made his points clear but, still, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that he has more to say. Until that happens, those who are interested in checking out The Last Dance and forming their own thoughts on it can do so by streaming it on Netflix and ESPN+.
