“Scottie Pippen Deserved to Look Bad!”: Defending Michael Jordan, Stephen A. Smith Blames ‘$19,445,000 Unhappiness’ for ‘Last Dance’ Callout

Ahead of Shannon Sharpe’s debut on ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith paid a visit to his new co-host’s Club Shay Shay podcast. During their conversation, many burning NBA topics came up, including the rift between Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen following the release of The Last Dance. Debating the contentious topic, Sharpe opined that Jordan was in the wrong because Pippen felt wronged by his superstar teammate after the documentary painted him in a negative light. Smith responded by saying that Pippen was actually unhappy with his contract with the Bulls, which was the root of all his frustrations. The two soon indulged in a heated exchange on the matter.

In 1991, the Chicago Bulls won their first championship. Pippen was also a free agent the same year. Subsequently, he signed a 7-year, $19,445,000 deal with the Bulls despite Jordan advising him against it. Initially, the deal seemed fair and just to the seven-time NBA All-Star. However, after stacking up a few Championships, Pippen realized his worth in the market and his contract felt like a burden on his freedom. The six-time champion knew he was being underpaid by the Bulls and eventually wanted to force his way out of it.

Stephen A. Smith says Scottie Pippen deserved to look bad in The Last Dance

Sharpe argued that it was not okay for Jordan to include personal incidents in The Last Dance that did not need to be publicized. However, Smith reminded the host that Jordan had already cautioned Pippen not to sign the deal. But Pippen had opted in anyway, later on sabotaging the Bulls’ last Championship season out of spite for the Bulls management. Therefore, Smith told Shape on the Club Shay Shay podcast that Pippen deserved his treatment in The Last Dance:

“Well Scottie [Pippen] deserved to look bad…it ain’t like he said yo man this is the woman he was messing with or something. He said yo, you passed up this contract… Michael Jordan is gone, you want to be that dude and then you gonna sit up there and refuse to enter the game because of Tony Kukoc.”

“The Last Dance” detailed Pippen’s decision to go for surgery late in October during the start of the 1997-98 season, instead of the summer, out of spite for the Bulls’ management, which eventually made him sit out for 35 games in the season. It also brought up the game where Jackson made Tony Kukoc take the last shot in a close game against the Knicks in a playoff series in 1994. Pippen decided to bench himself as a result. That was not the best decision from the Bulls star during a time when he was the team’s leader in the absence of Jordan.

Sharpe argued that MJ shouldn’t have aired the dirty laundry in public. However, Smith is also right about the documentary’s intention to capture the whole story.

Pippen calls Jordan a horrible player and credits his arrival for the Bulls’ success

After “The Last Dance” was released on Netflix, it faced some backlash from a few of the former Bulls players. Among those discrediting the validity of the docuseries were Pippen and Horace Grant. Pippen was not happy with the way he was painted in the series and perhaps took things to heart. The former Bulls star joined Stacey King, his former teammate in Chicago, on the podcast ‘Gimme the Hot Sauce’ and called MJ a horrible player. 

Pippen said that before he joined the five-time MVP in Chicago, the latter was a horrible player and horrible to play with. He also added that Jordan made bad shots in the game before his arrival. According to Pippen, when he joined MJ and the Bulls, people immediately forgot how terrible of a player Jordan was.