If there’s something guaranteed in this life, it’s that the internet never forgets. This fact takes a different dimension when we talk about NBA fans. They are constantly looking for old takes to make points and recently, they’ve found some gems against Scottie Pippen.
In recent hours, somebody found footage of Jordan praising Pippen, calling Pippen his MVP, and telling him how important he was to MJ’s career after the Chicago Bulls won the 1997 NBA Finals.
Moreover, another fan recovered footage from 2018 where Scottie called out Isiah Thomas for picking LeBron James over Jordan as the greatest player of all time. At the time, the 2x NBA champion said that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the greatest, but after that, there was a debate between MJ and LBJ. Of course, he sided with the then Cleveland Cavaliers player.
“There’s a debate in terms of Jordan and LeBron. And on any given night, who do you like. For me I look at the total body of work of LeBron James as a basketball player. And if I had to pick one over the other, right now I’m picking LeBron James over Michael Jordan because Jordan would beat you at scoring. But this guy beats you at everything.”
Scottie didn’t like those words and attacked Thomas, calling him out and saying he never agreed with anything Zeke did or said, defending his former teammate and claiming Mike played the game just like LeBron does nowadays when he needed to. Talking on ESPN’s The Jump, Pippen said:
“I don’t agree with nothing (Thomas) ever said…Michael Jordan is the greatest player to ever put on shoes and play in our game,” the 52-year-old said. “I’m always asked to compare him to LeBron, and I try to make the best of it. But really, the comparison shouldn’t ever be made.”
“They both play two different positions. The way LeBron James plays, Michael Jordan was never asked to play that way because I took that away from him… I was the facilitator. Michael Jordan was a scorer, he was a defender. He played the game as complete as LeBron James [does] when he needed to, but he was asked to score the basketball and that’s what he was great at.”
Forgot I had this clip. This makes everything Scottie Pippen saying now look even crazier. pic.twitter.com/Iah9wMDKcb
— Neon Boudeaux (@Carnage45__) November 11, 2021
This happened three years ago, before ‘The Last Dance’ and ‘Unguarded’ came out, so we know that Pippen had the utmost respect and admiration for Mike before all of that. Sadly, things changed in the last year, with Pippen taking a turn and going against his old partner in crime.
Well, the streets don’t forget and NBA fans kept the receipts and are bringing them up now. Scottie always selected Michael as the GOAT, but that changed when he started writing his book. Fans aren’t happy, but Pippen remains firm in his beliefs.
