Scottie Pippen calls Michael Jordan selfish for retiring right before training camp in 1993 which led to the Bulls not getting free agents.
Advertisement
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are perhaps the greatest duo in terms of perfecting balancing each other out on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Of course, the 5x MVP was miles ahead of Pippen when it came to who was flat-out the better player but every Jordan needs a secondary star like Scottie to win it all.
After having won 6 championships together in the span of eight years, it would be assumed that the iconic Chicago Bulls duo would have love for one another. a moment that comes to mind is when Scottie Pippen called Michael the best and greatest teammate he could have had during the latter’s Hall of Fame induction.
Fast-forward to present day and things are getting a bit chippy between the two, with Scottie instigating quite the turmoil, calling out Jordan publicly on multiple occasions.
Scottie Pippen calls Michael Jordan selfish.
Early October of 1993 saw Michael Jordan retire from the NBA after having just won his 3rd straight Finals MVP a couple months prior. This was due to the fact that he had lost his love for the game of basketball and decided to try out minor league baseball.
Given how late Jordan made his decision, it left the Chicago Bulls with no breathing room as they missed out on a ton of marquee free agents that summer, that they could’ve had if Michael had made his decision earlier.
Scottie Pippen has pointed this out recently, calling Michael Jordan ‘selfish’ for not letting the Bulls in on his plans to leave NBA basketball behind for the unforeseeable future.
Scottie Pippen says he was never close with Michael Jordan and rips him for being selfish
“You want to know what selfish is? Selfish is retiring right before the start of training camp when it is too late for the organization to sign free agents”
(Via Unguarded | h/t NY Times) pic.twitter.com/1di2vGfAtL
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) November 3, 2021
It should be understood that Jordan had lost his father to an unfortunate shooting merely 3 months prior; this was the leading factor in him exiting the NBA as his father always wanted him to be a baseball player. So, it makes sense that he took his time to make an informed decision after giving everything he had to the city of Chicago for nearly 10 years.