“Slow up, Man”: An Exasperated Scottie Pippen Once Learned Never to Challenge Michael Jordan

Jeet Pukhrambam | 11/01/2023
"Slow up, Man": An Exasperated Scottie Pippen Once Learned Never to Challenge Michael Jordan

It is a no-brainer that you never challenge Michael Jordan. No matter how confident you feel, you should not do that. Not when he is in his prime. And it doesn’t even matter if you happen to be the best defender in the NBA. Just ask Scottie Pippen.

The 7x all-star and 6x champion were considered by many as one of the greatest defenders of his time. In fact, he is perhaps one of two reasons, Jordan’s greatness aside, why the Bulls won 6 championships.

On any given night, he would guard the team’s best player and make stops that would look otherworldly. Your favorite NBA legends were used to getting locked up by Pip.

But not Michael Jordan.

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Scottie Pippen got schooled by Michael Jordan

Craig Hodges, a member of the Bulls’ winning teams in 1991 and 1992 saw firsthand how Scottie challenged His Airness and fell.

As per the story, in 1990, Scottie found the courage to challenge Mike. Jordan backed up for a second before raining down hell on Pippen.

Things got so bad that Pip said, “Slow up, man“. And if this doesn’t speak volumes about Michael’s tenacity as a player and his competitor mindset, nothing else will.

Scottie, who was one of the best even at the time couldn’t touch Michael. Levels. Now their relationship is in tatters.

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Nobody challenges Michael for a reason

The thing is nobody challenges Mike. He takes it too personally. The worst part? You won’t win. Scottie learned it the hard way and so did a myriad of others.

You do not see if there is any chink in his armor. Because if you wish to fight His Airness alone, you won’t find any.

Just take a look at this epic story about how he demolished a prospect from North Carolina.

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Post Edited By: Jeet Pukhrambam
Michael Jordan NBA Scottie Pippen

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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