It’s been a tough last few years for folks who were fans of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.
This beef that has been brewing between Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan has just been downright unpleasant to watch. For those who don’t know, Pippen had a problem with The Last Dance documentary about Michael Jordan.
He didn’t like seeing Michael Jordan glorified in a way that didn’t also prop up his teammates. Pippen felt like he didn’t get enough credit for his contributions to the Bulls’ dominance back then. And, ever since the documentary aired, he hasn’t been shy about speaking up about that.
He did it again in a recent interview on Stacey King’s “Gimme The Hot Sauce” podcast where he was asked about the greatest basketball player of all time debate.
And, look, the GOAT debate is always exhausting. There are always different ways to break it down and argue different sides — especially between LeBron James and Jordan. That’s why no one ever talks about it anymore — we can save that for when LeBron finally stops playing basketball.
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But Pippen decided to tackle it, anyway. And he did it in such a petty way by calling Michael Jordan out as a “horrible player” before Pippen joined the Bulls in 1987.
#Bulls Scottie Pippen: “LeBron James will be the greatest statistical [player] to ever play the game of basketball. [Michael Jordan] was a horrible player.” pic.twitter.com/j3bQ8rWcte
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) May 26, 2023
“I’ve seen Michael play before I came to play with the Bulls. He was a horrible player. He was horrible to play with. He was all one-on-one. He was shooting bad shots. And, all of a sudden, we become a team and we start winning. Everybody forgot who he was.”
Sheesh, man. Scottie really isn’t rocking with Jordan right now. It’s one thing to say the Bulls weren’t the greatest team — but horrible? That’s a bit much. Jordan had already been a 3-time All-Star and the NBA’s scoring leader by then. He certainly wasn’t a “horrible” player.
Beyond that, though, it just stinks to see these two teammates who, by all accounts, were once friends now having a bit of a rift in this way. Especially since most of the smoke seems to be coming from Pippen himself.
Fans hated to see this.
I legitimately feel bad for Scottie Pippen at this point https://t.co/QDF3EqHLax
— Van Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) May 26, 2023
*deep sigh* i … kinda understand why Pippen is always so salty. He’s literally one of the greatest players of all-time and all his contributions are usually withered down to “mike willed us to win,” like Scottie wasn’t just extremely good. It’s weird, but i get it. https://t.co/1BMAMuz1fe
— Kazeem Famuyide 🇳🇬 🍎 (@Kazeem) May 26, 2023
This odd Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan beef is hard to take pic.twitter.com/eRkPh4WAiN
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) May 26, 2023
Watching this makes me genuinely sad. Scottie brought so much joy to so many people. The fact that it all left him with such bitterness is a terrible shame. https://t.co/RHvmbm085V
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) May 26, 2023
Scottie Pippen way too elite and accomplished to be going out like this.
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) May 26, 2023
Scottie Pippen on that hateration, holleration again 😔
— AJ King (@allday_ajking) May 26, 2023
“It was all good just a week ago!” #ChicagoBulls https://t.co/uUUNG0Jp3I pic.twitter.com/uQWqqYdSOo
— MidwayMonsters (@Bulls_Bears_Chi) May 27, 2023
“Friends become foes” 💔 https://t.co/6XnwmUoJT2
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) May 26, 2023
None of this is a good look. It’s bad for fans and it’s bad for basketball. Hopefully, one day, these two can peace things up between them again.
