Jalen Rose, Michael Wilbon and Stephen A Smith heatedly debated whether Michael Jordan was unjust with Scottie Pippen last night.
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Scottie Pippen seems to have taken his depiction on The Last Dance very much to heart over the past 18 months. He’s told MJ in no uncertain terms how he wasn’t pleased with his side of the story in the docu-series.
Jordan himself acknowledged that his teammates were minimized. A part of the reason for that happening was ESPN’s decision to release it during the Covid-19 outbreak. This meant the makers of the series had to hasten their shooting, thereby cutting out Luc Longley entirely.
Michael went on an Australian TV news show to apologize for Longley not making the final cut himself. But Scottie won’t let his own depiction stay like that.
Pippen has released his book Unguarded, detailing his own version of events during the Bulls’ historic run. And it doesn’t paint a great picture about Michael Jordan at all.
“Michael Jordan is not the one who underrated Scottie Pippen”: Michael Wilbon
The Minnesota Timberwolves took on the LA Clippers on an ESPN game 2 nights ago. NBA Countdown host Mike Greenberg kicked the pre-game coverage off with some questions about Pippen’s book.
Stephen A Smith and Jalen Rose both said their piece in response to Mike Greenberg’s questions regarding the Scottie Pippen book and how he’s portrayed his teammate Michael Jordan in it. Both these gentlemen were concise, but on opposing ends of the issue.
Jalen believes Scottie was absolutely right in what he said, but Stephen A fell on the other side of the issue. Michael Wilbon tended to side with Stephen A, noting that the Scottie Pippen disrespect didn’t originate from MJ:
“Scottie Pippen, I’ve been saying for 15 years, is the most underrated player of the last 35-40 years. I still feel that way – underrated. But Michael didn’t, he’s not the guy who underrated Scottie Pippen, you know what I mean?”
“I’ve never, in all the conversations with Michael – on the record, off the record, on camera, in the locker room – I’ve never once heard him say anything that would lower the position of Scottie.”