When Michael Jordan shockingly announced his retirement from the NBA in 1993, three-time reigning champions Chicago Bulls were left with an unfillable hole on their roster. With the best player in the world no longer on the team, the Bulls were expected to crumble. However, Scottie Pippen stepped up and filled Jordan’s shoes and had the best season of his career. And when Jordan returned in 1995, he had all the praises in the world for Pippen.
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The forward averaged career-highs in points and rebounds with 22 and 8.7, and was the team’s top playmaker, averaging 5.6 assists. Pippen’s performances helped the Bulls finish the regular season with a 55-27 record. The previous year, they boasted a 57-25 record. Chicago unexpectedly remained a title contender in their first season without Jordan, largely due to Pippen, who finished third in the MVP race.
By the time Jordan returned in 1995, Pippen was more assured, impactful, and took pride in being a leader in the Bulls’ locker room. His superstar teammate took note of the chances and praised him in an interview with the Spokesman-Review in December 1995. Jordan said,
“He’s made unbelievable strides. There used to be inconsistency to his game that people criticized. But now, he’s alleviated the inconsistency. He’s got to be one of the best players in the game, if not the best. He’s learned how to challenge himself every night. When one phase of his game is not clicking, he’s contributed in other areas. That’s a sign of greatness.”
Pippen’s improvement as a player and Jordan’s return sparked another magical run for the Bulls. They finished the 1995-96 regular season with a 72-10 record, the best in NBA history at the time, and won the first title of their second three-peat. Jordan’s first retirement did wonders for Pippen’s game. He went from the Bulls icon’s reliable sidekick to a bonafide superstar.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen’s beef
Michael Jordan doesn’t pass up any opportunity to praise Scottie Pippen. In Netflix’s Last Dance, a documentary about the Bulls dynasty, the five-time NBA MVP said,
“Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen. He helped me so much in the way I approached the game, in the way I played the game. Everybody says, well, I won all these championships, but I didn’t win without Scottie Pippen, and that’s why I consider him my best teammate of all time.”
While Jordan hailed Pippen in the documentary, the forward wasn’t too pleased with his and his teammate’s portrayal. In his memoir titled ‘Unguarded,’ he claimed the six-time Finals MVP used the documentary to elevate his legacy rather than give a glimpse into the Bulls’ dynasty. Pippen wrote:
“How dare Michael treat us that way after everything we did for him and his precious brand. To make things worse, Michael received $10 million for his role in the doc while my teammates and I didn’t earn a dime… Michael and I aren’t close and never have been.”
Pippen even joined forces with former teammates Horace Grant and Luc Longley and embarked on a ‘No Bull Tour’ in Australia to fill the blanks that the documentary left.
Jordan and his former teammate no longer see eye-to-eye. Their friendship has turned into a bitter rivalry over a Netflix show. Jordan and Pippen’s fallout is heartbreaking and nothing suggests either Hall of Famer will extend the olive branch to their former teammate.
