Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen‘s relationship has been sour for a few years. However, during their playing days, the duo were joined to the hip and relied on each other enjoying tremendous success. Together, the duo led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles. Although, now things are different between the two, they used to openly praise and show their respect for each other.
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Jordan was a notoriously demanding teammate, and he loved playing alongside Pippen because the forward came through every time he needed him. After the Bulls won their fifth NBA title in 1997 following their Game 6 win over the Utah Jazz in the Finals, Jordan was named the series MVP. During the post-game award ceremony, he pulled Pippen close to him, and the duo lifted the Finals MVP trophy together. Jordan told his teammate,
“You deserve it too…you’re my MVP.”
Immediately after, commentator Ahmad Rashad asked Jordan about the moment.
“Scottie and I are a tandem. It is very difficult to separate us. He means so much to me when I set foot on the pitch, he also takes the pressure off me and I try to do the same for him. It’s hard to accept this MVP title alone, he deserves at least half of it. I’ll take the trophy and he’ll take the car that goes with it.”
Pippen was sensational in the 1997 NBA Finals against the Jazz. He averaged 20 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.8 blocks while taking on the most arduous defensive assignment and guarding reigning MVP Karl Malone. Pippen scored 23 points in the Game 6 win that sealed the series and the title for the Bulls. It was clear why Jordan was willing to share the NBA Finals MVP honour with his teammate.
Michael Jordan’s love for Scottie Pippen
Michael Jordan has never shied away from professing his admiration for Scottie Pippen. In the Netflix documentary, ‘The Last Dance,’ the six-time Finals MVP spoke glowing about his former teammate, saying,
“I would never be able to find another tandem, another support system, another partner in the game of basketball like Scottie Pippen. He was a pleasure to play with. … He helped so much in the way that I approached the game, the way I played the game.”
Jordan won his first MVP award during Pippen’s rookie season. With the forward by his side, he won five league MVP awards, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and six NBA titles. Almost all of Jordan’s individual and team accolades came after the Bulls drafted Pippen in 1987.
Jordan is cognizant of Pippen’s contribution to his legacy and did not refrain from giving his teammate the credit he deserved. In ‘The Last Dance,’ he said,
“Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen. Well, everybody says I won all these championships. But I didn’t win without Scottie Pippen. That’s why I consider him my greatest teammate of all-time.”
While Jordan spoke glowingly about Pippen in the documentary, it became the reason for a rift between the duo. The latter claimed that the six-time Finals MVP used the documentary to elevate his legacy rather than give an insight into the Bulls’ dynasty. In an interview with the Guardian, Pippen said,
“I thought it was more about Michael trying to uplift himself and to be glorified. I think it also backfired to some degree in that people got a chance to see what kind of personality Michael had.”
Pippen unleashed more fury on Jordan for the documentary in his 2021 memoir titled ‘Unguarded.’ He wrote,
“Each episode was the same: Michael on a pedestal, his teammates secondary, smaller, the message no different from when he referred to us back then as his ‘supporting cast.’ They glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates.”
He was also miffed about his portrayal in the episode about his refusal to come off the bench in Game 3 of the Bulls second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks in 1994.
Pippen was also upset about Jordan receiving $10 million for his role in helping produce the documentary while the rest of the Bulls “didn’t earn a dime.” Their relationship remains sour to this day. They both skipped the Bulls’ Ring of Honor night earlier this month, presumably to avoid bumping into each other.
Jordan and Pippen are inarguably the greatest duo in NBA history. Ironically, their relationship soured over a documentary celebrating their success and legacy.
