Scottie Pippen Calls Out Michael Jordan in New Memoir

By Tadi Abedje Published: November 3, 2021

Scottie Pippen Calls Out Michael Jordan in New Memoir

FILE - In this May 7, 1995, file photo, Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan (45) and forward Scottie Pippen (33) walk back to the bench during a timeout in the closing seconds of an NBA basketball playoff game in Orlando. Pippen says he’s talked with Jordan since “The Last Dance” documentary aired in the spring and downplayed any rift between the retired Bulls stars. (AP Photo/Robert Baker, File)

In Summary

The six-time NBA champion and Chicago Bulls legend called out his former teammate in an excerpt from his upcoming memoir.

Scottie Pippen is making headlines as his upcoming memoir, Unguarded, is expected to be released on Nov. 9. He calls out former teammate Michael Jordan, who is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, about The Last Dance docuseries in which he felt he was painted in a negative light.

Pippen expressed his thoughts about the documentary and believes it was glorification of Jordan instead of the success of the entire Chicago Bulls team in the 1990s, according to Sports Illustrated.

“The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn’t have been released otherwise,” he said according to GQ Magazine. “Except Michael was determined to prove to the current generation of fans that he was larger-than-life during his day—and still larger than LeBron James, the player many consider his equal, if not superior.”

In the documentary, Jordan said that Pippen was his best teammate of all time and mentioned in his 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame speech that he won all of his six championships with him. However, his ex-teammate doesn’t buy it.

“I was nothing more than a prop. His ‘best teammate of all time,’ he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried,” Pippen said, as reported by GQ Magazine.

The 2010 Basketball Hall of Famer said Jordan got $10 million for the 10-part ESPN documentary and alleges he and his former teammates didn’t receive a single penny.

In June, Pippen accused his former head coach Phil Jackson of being a racist about a play in the 1994 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks. Jackson designed a play for Toni Kukoč to take the last shot, which angered Pippen and he asked out of the game.