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“F** Y*!”: Michael Jordan was ready to fight the Knicks for Scottie Pippen

Adit Pujari
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The GOAT Michael Jordan was ready to throw hands for Chicago Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen in a fight against the Knicks!

The GOAT Michael Jordan was ready to throw hands for Chicago Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen in a fight against the Knicks!

The Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan as their centerpiece, ruled the NBA in the 90s. They won six championships and are to this date considered one of the most formidable squads ever assembled.

Of course, Jordan was the main man. He was the face of not just his franchise but the entire league. His athleticism and dominance were a thing of beauty.

While Pippen wasn’t the best in the team or in the league, he was exceptional in his own way. The 7-time All-Star was undeniably one of the best defenders of his era.

Together, the two were at the apex of the league and were quite literally unstoppable. Though the later addition of Dennis Rodman made them even better.

Despite everything they won together, things turned sour between them after the release of ‘The Last Dance.’ The documentary was about the Bulls’ 97-98 championship but Pippen found it insulting to his legacy. The war that began then continues to this day.

Also Read: Shaquille O’Neal’s son Myles corrupts Shaqir to go $250 over budget and get Yeezys 

Michael Jordan refused to let Knicks players bully teammate Scottie Pippen

Since the fateful airing of perhaps the most famous sports documentary, Pippen has been on a lash-out tour against Jordan. He has burned all bridges with his scathing public attacks on the legendary shooting guard.

The 6’8″ small forward listed a lot of issues with MJ, the one that stood out the most was his claim that Jordan was a terrible teammate. It is a well-known fact that Jordan was a dictator who lead the Bulls with an iron fist.

He expected his teammates to work as hard as him if not more. But it is rare for an athlete to be as committed to the sports as ‘His Airness.’ So, Mike was often disappointed in practice. The result was him berating his teammate.

In his memoir, Pippen revealed: “In the doc, Michael attempted to justify the occasions in which he berated a teammate in front of the group. He felt these guys needed to develop the toughness to get past the NBA’s more physical teams. Seeing again how poorly Michael treated his teammates, I cringed, as I did back then.”

But a rare video shows MJ rushing to Scottie’s side after the Knicks players pushed him around. Without concern for his own safety, Michael jumped right in and guarded Pippen.

In fact, it almost seemed as if MJ wanted the Knicks to target him instead of his teammate. The video clearly shows that no matter how tough or aggressive the situation got, the GOAT had his squad’s back.

Jordan and Xavier McDaniels head-butted each other and received double technicals. But he was never the one to avoid a fight and lashed out at Xavier, saying “F**k y**!”

Perhaps Michael was too hard on his teammates and expected too much of them. Perhaps he pushed them to a point where it made them fear Jordan’s iron-willed regime.

But one thing that remains undeniable is that regardless of the situation, the man had his teammate’s back.

Also Read: 6ft 2′ Kyrie Irving hilariously recalls fans believing his battles with Kobe Bryant were personal 

About the author

Adit Pujari

Adit Pujari

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Adit Pujari is an NBA Journalist and Strategist at The SportsRush. He formerly worked as a debate and writing trainer. An avid fan of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, Adit began following the league in 2007. With the Lakers and Boston Celtics rivalry ripe, he found himself hooked to the sport immediately. After 15 years of religiously following the league, he decided to use his knowledge base as a sports writer in 2021. Since then, he has worked as an NBA writer, led a team of MLB writers, and has now joined The SportsRush. In his spare time, Adit loves playing pickup games and exploring hidden Himalayan trails.

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