Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, are one of the greatest duos the league has ever seen. Dominating in the 90s, Jordan and Pippen were the faces of the Bulls franchise as well as the league. They won six championships together, never lost in the Finals, and it only took them three seasons to figure the game out. After a successful career, Jordan and Pippen soon retired. Their dominance was better explained in the documentary, The Last Dance, released in 2020.
The Bulls’ championship run of 1998 was portrayed with context to the previous five championships. Jordan and Pippen were the only two players who stayed till the sixth championship run, as the front office did not fail to make adjustments, almost each season. The documentary on the other hand didn’t dive deep into the Bulls’ championship run as a franchise, but instead, it was solely focused on Jordan’s NBA career. Following the release of the documentary, Pippen was seemingly upset with its presentation.
Pippen was the most underrated and underpaid player of the 90s
As Pippen entered the 1997-98 season, being the second-best player on the team, he earned twelve times less than the player ahead of him, Michael Jordan. Scottie was a decorated defender, as he suffocated his opponent on defense. On the offensive end, Pippen would contribute greatly as well. Though his efforts were not as appreciated. Pippen was set to make around $2.7 million to MJ’s $33 million in 1998. In the documentary, Jordan called out Pippen for being selfish when he tried to force the front office to change his contract.
Being on the pedestal, and earning such an amount in the 90s was not normal. Though Jordan’s words on this take were definitely not wise. This was one of the instances that made Pippen look small. The whole documentary was based on Jordan’s life till the 98′ season. From his childhood to his sixth title, the doc had covered it all. Going by the name of ‘The Last Dance’, the documentary definitely directs the attention toward the Bulls’ championship run of 98′. Whereas the contents of the 10-episode-long documentary included an episode each for Scottie, Rodman, and Phil Jackson, all ending with a narrative around Mike.
Scottie was upset at the presentation of the doc that glorified Michael and left the rest as his supporting cast. The beef between Pippen and Jordan had just started. At first, MJ did try to check on Scottie, asking if there was anything he felt bad about the docuseries. Pippen responded positively, though that was not the end. Up until the release of the docuseries, Scottie had a lot of praise for MJ, especially in debates when comparing Jordan to LeBron James. Though things soon took a turn.
Scottie changed his narrative on Michael Jordan and LeBron James debate
Upset after the release of The Last Dance, Scottie went on to call out Michael on multiple occasions. Pippen always considered MJ above LeBron James in all takes. Whereas after he changed his narrative, Scottie believed LeBron to be a more complete player than Mike, as James would involve his teammates as well. At this point, Pippen was extremely disappointed at his position as a retired player, for he does not deserve to be looked at as just another Robin to Jordan’s Batman.
It was to a point when Pippen had argued that the Bulls did not win six championships because of Mike. He believed that the team had won as a whole unit. Later on, Scottie even went at his former head coach, Phil Jackson, calling him a racist. This came after an episode of Dan Patrick’s podcast, where the two were discussing the last shot that was taken by Toni Kukoc in a playoff game instead of Pippen. Scottie believed that Phil’s decision was racial and that he was destined to take the shot.
He commented on each occasion, taunting his former teammates and coaches, wherever he felt disrespected. From MJ’s side, there was no response, as he did not wish to acknowledge or defend himself from Pippen’s statements. Recently, Scottie came out saying, “He was a horrible player”, calling out Mike yet again. Things have gone downhill for Pippen ever since his beef with MJ began.
Pippen’s ex-wife is now in a relationship with Mike’s son
Scottie and Larsa Pippen have been divorced for quite a while now. Larsa on the other hand is in a serious relationship with MJ’s son, Marcus Jordan. The two have been together for long, and Larsa still tries to keep her relationship private, considering the beef between her ex-husband and her boyfriend’s father. It is not known whether Larsa and Marcus are to be engaged, though fans do consider it a possibility in the near future.
While Pippen has not had the best of times, with everything going downhill. He continues to clap back at the instances where he was disrespected. Scottie and Mike might still be friends, though this beef has definitely changed the narrative around both. It will be interesting to see whether Jordan ever responds to Pippen’s words.