The relationship between Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen has been dragged through the mud over the last few years, seemingly beyond repair at this point. The Chicago Bulls duo’s partnership had pretty much become a household term in America after their incredible run in the 90s. But things went south after the Netflix documentary on the Bulls’ sixth Championship win, The Last Dance, aired in 2020. Pippen lashed out against the supposed revised narrative of the Bulls’ Championship campaigns, particularly for dramatically glorifying the heroics of Jordan at the expense of diminishing the contributions of others in the team. However, there was a time when things were still amicable between the legendary pairing. This charity game was a perfect example of what Jordan and Pippen were capable of achieving as a collective.
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The Last Dance fixated on MJ’s obsession with winning and portrayed the highly competitive side of his personality to a younger audience. That competitive edge is quite evident in His Airness dropping 52 points in this 1994 charity game arranged by Scottie Pippen. Not to mention, he was retired at the time(since 1993) from the NBA and was playing for the White Sox affiliate, Birmingham Barons. In fact, Jordan didn’t want to play initially. But then changed his mind to lead his White team to a 187-150 victory against Pippen’s Red team, with a 50-point game.
Michael Jordan put on a show in Scottie Pippen’s charity event
Scottie Pippen’s Ameritech All-Star Classic was the last scheduled game at Chicago Stadium, which was later renovated into the current home of the Bulls, the United Center. The game took place in front of a sold out crowd of 18000 people. It was expected to raise over $150,000 for underprivileged kids in Chicago.
Apart from Michael Jordan’s 52(shooting 24 of 46 from the floor), Orlando Magic star Penny Hardaway tallied 42 points for the White team. Scottie Pippen lead the Red team’s efforts with 24 points. According to a United Press International report on the event, other notable players included:
“The White Team, which was coached by all-time great Ernie Banks and WLS sports anchor Jim Rose, included Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics, John Starks and Charles Oakley of the New York Knicks[among others]…The Red Team, which was coached by former Bulls’ great Bob Love and WGN sports anchor Dan Roan, featured B.J. Armstrong and Toni Kukoc of the Bulls, free agent Ron Harper, Isiah Rider of the Minnesota Timberwolves[and others]…”
Pippen’s contention with Jordan’s legacy
There is no denying the fact that The Last Dance would serve as cornerstone to define Michael Jordan’s legacy to posterity. However, Scottie Pippen claims in his memoir Unguarded, that Jordan’s adulations in the docuseries come at the expense of dismissing his teammates’ contributions to the Bulls dynasty.
A GQ excerpt of Pippen’s book notes:
“[The Last Dance] glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates…Each episode was the same: Michael on a pedestal, his teammates secondary, smaller, the message no different from when he referred to us back then as his “supporting cast.”…we received little or no credit whenever we won but the bulk of the criticism when we lost.”
Pippen also made sure to point out that the docuseries was not a fabrication of the biased media or the hero-worshipping fans. Jordan and his team had full editorial control of the popular production.
