Several years ago, former Chicago Bulls teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan were engaged in a feud after the debut of the docuseries The Last Dance. Pippen took issue with the ESPN docuseries and later voiced his displeasure with Jordan (whose production company helped oversee the project). Since then, the two athletes have been estranged and had no contact with each other. Now, Pippen is emphasizing the point that he and Jordan were “never great friends,” but he also paid him a major compliment.
What Did Scottie Pippen Say About His Relationship With Michael Jordan?
The Chicago Bulls dominated the NBA in the ‘90s, winning six championships during that decade. That was in great part due to the efforts of “MJ” and “Pip.” However, the Arkansas native has mentioned on a number of occasions that he and the Jordan Brand co-founder weren’t really that close during their playing days. He echoed those sentiments when he recently sat down with Valuetainment Media and host Patrick Bet-David pondered if the pair might cut through their “tension” and reconcile. In the YouTube video, Pip said:
I don’t know, I just think Michael is a very difficult person to deal with. I played with him for years, so I know that. When it’s time for you to move in your direction, then go in your direction. Don’t sit there and try to procrastinate or stretch it — that the relationship is not where it was or not what it used to be, and it’s never gonna be the same. So why try and make something out of nothing or try to make something that was never there… [Michael was a] great teammate, but we just never were great friends.
When it came to 2020’s The Last Dance, Scottie Pippen admitted he “wasn’t too pleased.” He later expanded upon those thoughts in his 2021 memoir, Unguarded, and didn’t mince words about Michael Jordan. Pippen believed Michael Jordan used the 10-part show to highlight his own accomplishments and didn’t give due credit to others. Pippen even claimed Jordan “ruined” basketball. In a 2023 interview, Pippen even called Jordan a “horrible” player. Still, the ex-Houston Rocket did offer some praise to his former on-court partner.
How Did Scottie Pippen Talk Up Michael Jordan?
Conversations about NBA GOATS are not only had by the general public but by those who played the game as well. That wasn’t necessarily what the former Central Arkansas player was touching on during his recent interview. However, his comments on how an accomplished, contemporary player like LeBron James stacks up to MJ waded into that discussion. It seems that in the ex-small forward’s mind, James can’t even be compared to his former Bulls teammate:
I will say Michael, he was built different. Competitive 24/7, not too many people are built like that, willing to compete at any level and at anything. So, when you look at these players in today’s era, being LeBron, there’s really no comparison when you talk about the level of competitiveness. Michael bunched up all of his competitiveness and sort of exposed it out to the world within 12 to 14 years. We saw his whole resume, his competitiveness, his drive, his will to win, what he wants to do. But, someone like LeBron has to spread that out for 20 plus years. It’s not the same drive, it’s not the same fight, it’s not the same hunger. So, when people try to make those comparisons of those two players, it’s like talking to someone in the front seat in the back seat. They ain’t even in the same lane.
LeBron James, the leading scorer in NBA history, is certainly a formidable force in his own right. However, Scottie Pippen does make an interesting point in that Michael Jordan accomplished so much in a condensed timeframe, arguably due to his drive. Even Magic Johnson called Michael Jordan the “strongest” athlete he’d ever seen. This level of praise also falls in line with Pippen’s previous admission that he would still play with Jordan, if given the chance again.
It still seems that Scottie Pippen doesn’t have any interest in patching anything up with Michael Jordan, at this point, though. Honestly, that prospect may be somewhat disappointing to longtime fans who enjoyed watching them play alongside each other on the court. At the very least, though, it seems that Pippen does still have an appreciation for Jordan’s drive and believes he stands tall among other legends of the game.
Stream The Last Dance for yourself right now using a Netflix subscription.
