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Reading: Bulls Writer Says Michael Jordan Was A Shark And He Knew Scottie Pippen Wanted To Be Equal To Him: “And Then Pippen Would Go Sort Of Crawling Back To Horace Grant And The Guys Because He Wasn’t Accepted Like He Wanted To Be.”
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Home > NBA News & Analysis > Bulls Writer Says Michael Jordan Was A Shark And He Knew Scottie Pippen Wanted To Be Equal To Him: “And Then Pippen Would Go Sort Of Crawling Back To Horace Grant And The Guys Because He Wasn’t Accepted Like He Wanted To Be.”

Bulls Writer Says Michael Jordan Was A Shark And He Knew Scottie Pippen Wanted To Be Equal To Him: “And Then Pippen Would Go Sort Of Crawling Back To Horace Grant And The Guys Because He Wasn’t Accepted Like He Wanted To Be.”

Divij Kulkarni
Jan 11, 2022
3 Min Read
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Michael Jordan was famously tough with his teammates in his single-minded quest to win as many NBA championships as he could. Through both of the three-peats in Jordan’s career, his main co-star was always Scottie Pippen. Pippen’s elite defense and playmaking ability allowed him to complement Jordan perfectly in those legendary Chicago Bulls teams. 

However, MJ always got more of the glory from media and fans alike for his sheer brilliance and according to Bulls writer Sam Smith, this led to Pippen himself always wanting to be in Jordan’s circle. Smith told The Athletic that Scottie’s attempts to be seen as an equal were all in vain though, with Michael apparently belittling him even though he knew that Pippen wanted his approval. 

“He actually had this curious ambivalence with Jordan. He wanted to be accepted and part of Jordan’s orbit, and I think that stemmed from, as a lot of it does, from where it came from. … He always really hungered for it, but Michael, being the shark he was, he would recognize that. He was so aware of people wanting to do that. 

“And then he would belittle Pippen when he was trying to be considered an equal, and then Pippen would go sort of crawling back to Horace Grant and the guys because he wasn’t accepted like he wanted to be.”

Whatever the tension between the two, they did manage to win 6 whole championships together with Jordan giving Pippen a lot of credit in his documentary, The Last Dance. Jordan explained that he would not have been the player he was if it wasn’t for Scottie’s contributions. 

Pippen himself wasn’t too pleased with his portrayal and has expressed his dissatisfaction but did go on to say that MJ was the best teammate he had ever played with. Whatever beef comes to light between the two Bulls legends, the fact remains that Jordan and Pippen will always be considered as one of the best duos in the history of basketball. 

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TAGGED:Chicago Bulls ArchiveMichael JordanScottie Pippen
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ByDivij Kulkarni
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Divij Kulkarni is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He has covered the NBA and the English Premier League, with 4 years of experience in creating sports content. Finding exciting and intriguing content about all things NBA is both his job and his passion. Divij loves the Dallas Mavericks and can be regularly observed getting emotional during games. Outside of basketball, he enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, consuming copious amounts of movies and TV, and spending time with his dog, Olivia. Expertise: NBA, Historical Sports ResearchFavorite Team: Dallas MavericksFeatured On HoopsHype, Sports Illustrated, Secret Base, MSNPrevious Work: Tribuna
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