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“Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen’s relationship is over with”: Bulls teammate, Charles Oakley, paints a grim picture for the 6x champs’ discontinued camaraderie

Samir Mehdi
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“Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen’s relationship is over with”: Bulls teammate, Charles Oakley, paints a grim picture for the 6x champs’ discontinued camaraderie

Charles Oakley believes Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen don’t have a functioning relationship anymore as it wasn’t great to begin with. 

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen looked like model teammates when on the court. Both were defensive savants on the perimeter, playing off one another while Jordan was of course, the high scoring guard to Pippen’s most ‘point forward’ role.  

They won 6 championships playing together and so it wasn’t difficult to fathom that MJ and Pip were tight off the court as well. While they weren’t the best of friends in real life, they certainly didn’t despise one another. Scottie even tried to lure Jordan back into the game after his first retirement because he knew he needed him.

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‘The Last Dance’ docuseries is what resulted in a domino effect that led to Pippen calling out Jordan for the way that he was portrayed in it. This eventually divulged into him showing displeasure with Michael Jordan and the way he played the game while also calling out media for putting him on a pedestal. 

Scottie would go as far as to say in his memoir that MJ ‘ruined’ the game of basketball due to his iso-heavy style of play. 

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen may have an irreparable relationship, according to Charles Oakley.  

Michael Jordan has not spoken to the media once since Scottie Pippen’s harsh comments about him have surfaced over the past year and a half. According to their former Bulls teammate, Charles Oakley, MJ will continue to stay silent as they have a relationship that is beyond repair at this point. 

“Yeah I think it’s over. It [their relationship] wasn’t great from the get-go. I think they covered Dennis Rodman more than Scottie and Steve Kerr. My thing to that is, Kerr did way more off the court than Scottie. Dennis probably has too. But on the court, Scottie did a lot more than both of them, but he felt like he was left out.” 

“He’s [Jordan] not gonna say nothing back in the press, none of that, try to go back to Scottie. He’s just gonna keep doing what he’s doing: play golf, fish, relax, and smoke cigars,” said Oakley.

Also read: “I meant 5:45AM, not 5:45PM fool!”: When Kobe Bryant went off at Lakers coach, Phil Handy, for not showing up to practice early morning

With the way things are going and Pippen having not spoken to the media about Jordan ever since the release of his new book, it’s looking like what the Knicks legend is saying could come true and MJ stays silent for years on end. 

About the author

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi

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Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

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