Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen formed one of the greatest duos in NBA history with the Chicago Bulls, but the two are no longer on good terms. Pippen has fired one too many shots at Jordan ever since The Last Dance documentary came out, and former NBA player Charles Oakley, who played alongside both of them on the Bulls, was asked about the exact issue here on Art Of Dialogue.
“He might not have gotten all the credit he deserved,” Oakley said. “But that’s how the NBA go, they got their certain guys they going marketing, Some guys think they should get marketing, don’t get marketing. I think he did a lot for the organization in Chicago, the fans love him in Chicago.
“I know The Last Dance, a lot of things came out of that,” Oakley continued. “He said a lot about Mike… I think Scottie still feel like a lot of people didn’t give [him] his credit. I think Mike always gave him his credit, but he have a certain feeling for himself. So, he wins six championship together and all this other stuff come out afterwards.”
In his book “Unguarded,” Pippen stated that Jordan couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried in the documentary. He felt the supporting cast around the guard was demeaned in the documentary, as was the case during their playing careers.
Pippen also revealed that Jordan apologized to him for including his controversial refusal to play against the New York Knicks in the 1994 playoffs. He didn’t press any further as he knew it would do no good.
The worst shot fired in the years that have followed came in 2023 when Pippen called Jordan a horrible player. You wondered where he’d go next after that, but he changed his tune a little bit.
Pippen stated a year later in 2024 that Jordan is the GOAT. He has shown respect to his former teammate at times, and Oakley thinks he doesn’t actually hate him.
“I don’t think Scottie hate Mike,” Oakley stated. “… He got some feelings that he probably should have been represented more, and maybe in The Last Dance and other things.”
Did Pippen deserve more recognition? Probably. To go with the six titles, he made seven All-Star, seven All-NBA, and 10 All-Defensive teams. He made the All-Defensive First Team eight years in a row from 1992 to 1999, an incredible feat.
Pippen was a phenomenal defensive player who could also do it all on offense. He averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in his career, and was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Pippen was the ideal player to pair with Jordan, and they helped the Bulls dominate the NBA in the 1990s. They three-peated from 1991 to 1993 and then from 1996 to 1998.
Jordan has been given much of the credit for the Bulls’ success, and Pippen seems to think he deserves more of it. It seems unlikely that it will happen after all these years, though.
Dennis Rodman played alongside Jordan and Pippen during the second three-peat, and he, too, was once asked about the beef. Rodman thinks Pippen is a bit bitter and added that he believes they will work things out. You’d sure hope so, but by this point, the bridge might have been completely burned down.
