Scottie Pippen is one of the hottest topics in the league right now after the Chicago Bulls legend surprised many people with his comments about Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls in his upcoming ‘Unguarded’ book.
No. 33 has shocked a lot of folks after he decided to go against people he was successful with. This didn’t sit well among the NBA community, dividing fans who support Pippen and those who are mad at him.
While some people don’t understand why Scottie is going against his former teammates and franchise, it seems like Jalen Rose knows what is really going on with the retired small forward.
Talking on his Jalen & Jacoby show, the former player-turned-analyst called Pippen the ‘most disrespected all-time great player,’ explaining why people seem to undermine his work.
“As somebody who grew up playing basketball, born in the 70s, played in the 80s, I was considered a tall guard. Scottie Pippen, an all-time great point forward, and I’mma do this distinction for you. It’s like Paul Pressey, Scottie Pippen, Grant Hill, and there were the tall point guards like Magic Johnson, Steve Smith, Penny Hardaway, so I always admired Scottie Pippen and appreciated him. And then I thought about something. He’s the most disrespected all-time great player that any game has seen. It’s not even close. Michael Jordan wouldn’t win any championships without Scottie Pippen. But let me tell you why the public gets to denounce the role of Scottie Pippen.
Two reasons: 1. We always want to give the best player of all the credit. When we’re talking about Jordan, we don’t even mention Phil Jackson. Phil went and won five more championships after he left the Bulls.
2. Unfortunately for Scottie, when you look at those championship runs, he doesn’t have like the signature moment. Just think about this, have you ever seen Scottie Pippen make a game-winning shot? When you play with Michael Jordan, you didn’t get the chance to take the game-winning shot most of the time. That’s why when Jordan left, it was on him to play on MVP-level, lead the team, they got a bad call against the Knicks, where they would’ve advanced a lot further, but that’s what blew up the Toni Kukoc thing when he didn’t go in the game. “
Playing alongside Michael Jordan, it was hard to get recognition. Still, Jordan himself called Pippen his best teammate of all time. MJ knows he wouldn’t have won without Scottie by his side, but the forward doesn’t think his words were as generous and sincere as they sounded.
Pippen needs to get some things off his chest and his memoir will show the public his real feelings after all these years. It’s really sad that he’s going after everybody in this book, but there’s nothing we can do about it.
