Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are arguably the most iconic duo that the NBA has ever witnessed. Their presence on the court together even led the Detroit Pistons to dull. The Pistons were renowned for ruthless and rough performances and had the nickname ‘Bad Boy Pistons‘ for the right reasons.
The victory of the Chicago Bulls over the Pistons, on the court was remarkable. This was the time when Jordan and Pippen bonded. In the docuseries ‘The Last Dance‘, Jordan candidly spoke about this and had everyone’s heart melt. It was evident how well he knew Pippen and the kind of person he was.
Scottie Pippen’s raw athletic ability and Michael Jordan’s drive to be the very best became a recipe for success for The Bulls in the ’90s. The two would make sure their bond on court was about making each other stronger players. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/tqJCCOYawF
— Netflix ANZ (@NetflixANZ) May 2, 2020
Jordan said, “One thing about Pip is, that if you stand next to him, you make him stronger. All those Detroit times when Rodman wanted to pick on him, he needed someone there to stand there and say, look I’ll fight with you. Just fight”. His words painted the picture well as to what made them win not only one but six NBA championships.
Furthermore, he shed light on how they bonded. In Jordan’s own words, “Scottie and I bonded. Because he felt like okay he has someone that he can count on and I’m looking at okay, I got someone who I can actually count on”. Jordan and Pippen not only found someone to count on the court but also off the court. Their relationship off the hardwood was as iconic as while playing basketball.
Dennis Rodman made Scottie Pippen get six stitches
One of the things that Michael Jordan especially emphasized was how Dennis Rodman wanted to pick on him. He stated, “All those Detroit times when Rodman wanted to pick on him, he needed someone there to stand there and say, look I’ll fight with you. Just fight”. Jordan was determined to fight alongside his ‘brother’ Scottie. Even though there are numerous such instances, one of the prominent ones was during the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.
This was also the last time that Rodman was able to pick on Pippen. The Bulls were able to win the championship and also defeated the Bad Boy Pistons. In the playoffs, the ruthless defense by Rodman led to Pippen getting six stitches. Interestingly, after this, the iconic duo went on to win three championships back-to-back, and then again from 1996 to 1998.
Furthermore, Rodman also publicly acknowledged that hurting Pippen wasn’t his intention and that the bad boy image drove him. Notably, not only this, but Rodman also ended up joining the Bulls in 1995. He played along with Jordan and Pippen and won three championships with them.
However, the relationship between Jordan and Pippen started getting weak over the years. Their feud began due to the same docuseries wherein Jordan spoke about his bond with Pippen. This has only gotten worse from there as the relationship between Scottie’s ex-wife Larsa Pippen and Michael’s son Marcus Jordan came to light. MJ and Scottie remain in the headlines as Larsa and Marcus discuss their wedding plans openly.