Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the most formidable duo in the 90s. They carried the Chicago Bulls to 6 championships and global recognition. However, the Bulls did not reciprocate their contributions aptly. In fact, there haven’t been many occasions in history when a team was broken up immediately after winning the championship.
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But the Bulls were complicated, especially in the latter half of the 90s. Jordan’s return though marked the start of their second three-peat run, but it couldn’t keep the complex politics from boiling over.
Jerry Krause’s hate for Phil Jackson and Reinsdorf’s reluctance to pay his superstars fractured the team. In Roland Lazenby’s book Michael Jordan: The Life, Scottie Pippen blamed the Bulls’ management for ruining their chances at a 7th championship.
Scottie Pippen believed he could have won another championship with Michael Jordan
In Michael Jordan: The Life, Roland Lazenby wrote about Scottie Pippen’s reaction to watching MJ play in Washington. The 6ft 8″ forward was then playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. Meanwhile, MJ was now with the Wizards.
Pippen, who was also nearing the end of his career, couldn’t help but notice how extraordinary Jordan still was. In fact, Pippen even played one game against his former teammate in 2002. Fascinatingly, both had 14 points in the game.
In Lazenby’s book, Pippen wondered what would have happened if the 1998 Bulls squad was still intact in 2002-2003. Pippen was confident they could have won another championship together.
Lazenby: “Watching Jordan had invariably led Pippen to wonder what might have happened had the Bulls not been broken up. “I think we could have been pretty competitive if we had stayed together,” he said. “We would have had something there with our knowledge and experience. We would have still been very competitive.” In fact, it seemed quite possible that the Chicago Bulls might have won at least one more, if not two or three championships, if they had all treated one another just a little better. As it was, the Bulls without Jordan were struggling mightily.”
Charles Oakley also called out the Bulls for ill-treating MJ and Scottie
A few years after the Bulls were broken up, Jerry Krause re-signed former enforcer Charles Oakley. He even claimed that Oakley was one of his favorites. Bur Oakley did not reciprocate those feelings. Instead, he blamed them for mistreating Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
Scottie revealed this to Roland Lazenby. He said: “Pippen said Oakley was unhappy to be back with the Bulls. “I talked to him yesterday,” Pippen said. “He told them, ‘If you all didn’t care about MJ and Scottie, I know you don’t care about me.'”
Oakley’s accusations aren’t that off. The Bulls should have definitely treated their loyal stars better. But as far as winning another title goes, it’s, at the end of the day, mere speculation. Do you think they would have actually won the 7th title?
