Recently, Gilbert Arenas and Rashad McCant had a heated discussion on Gil’s Arena. Discussing the legacy of Michael Jordan, the topic of Scottie Pippen‘s most recent comments came up. Scottie, who played with MJ from 1987 all the way to 1998 claimed that the latter wasn’t a great player until he came to the Chicago Bulls. McCant was under the impression that Pippen was claiming that Jordan was a bad teammate from 1987 to 1991. However, Arenas retorted suggesting that Pippen made these statements about Jordan’s game before he got there. It was a confusing and bewildering argument that finally ended in a discussion about bad teammates and dope.
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Gilbert Arenas and Rashad McCant get into a heated discussion about Michael Jordan and whether or not he was a bad teammate
At some point, Rashad McCant conceded to Gilbert Arenas. They agreed that Scottie Pippen was, in fact, talking about Michael Jordan before he joined the Bulls in 1987. However, this turned into a completely new argument about what makes a bad teammate, with the implication here being that MJ was always a bad teammate.
McCant agreed with Pippen, holding onto the idea that Jordan was a bad teammate. But Agent Zero believes that this is far from the truth. Making an interesting point, Arenas questioned whether the bad teammate is the one smoking dope in the locker room or the one working day in and day out and refusing to pass to his teammates.
It was a sound argument but one that left McCant completely lost for words. In fact, all he could do was suggest that perhaps Jordan did smoke dope with his teammates. A statement that is downright baffling.
Gilbert Arenas: “Is a bad teammate, five of you sitting in the room smoking dope. Are y’all preparing for the game? Five to six teammates in the room smoking dope. Is that the bad teammate? Or is the bad teammate the guy who’s working out not passing the six dope heads the ball?”
Rashad McCant: “So you saying Michael didn’t got there and smoke no dope? I think Mike in there and smoked some dope!”
The idea of MJ doing drugs is rather ludicrous. After all, he has done many a PSA warning against drug abuse, not to mention the fact that he has vehemently denied ever taking part in the once-infamous”traveling cocaine circus” that was the Bulls roster in the 80s.
Arenas claims there is a double standard with MJ, comparing him to Kobe Bryant
Gilbert Arenas, in the same podcast episode, pointed out that there is a double standard when it comes to Michael Jordan. He claims that Jordan always gets called out for being a bad teammate, but he isn’t the only one who demands the best from his teammates. The likes of Kobe Bryant also refused to pass to teammates who he deemed to have a bad work ethic.
This was something that many across the league and the media praised. They felt the Black Mamba was right to demand more from his teammates. But, when His Airness did the same thing, he was met with ridicule. Thus proving that some of the criticism the six-time NBA Champion gets is unfounded.
