Scottie Pippen has been one of the most outspoken players when it comes to the GOAT debate. This conversation often leads to Michael Jordan and LeBron James going at it, with plenty of fans and analysts expressing their opinions.
Former players have done the same, especially after Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ award-winning docu-series ‘The Last Dance’ came out last year. Well, Pippen has made it clear that he believes nobody will be better than his former teammate and that’s not something new. Back in 2012, the 6x NBA champion had a revealing interview where he explained how he felt about LeBron James, Jordan, and this whole debate.
He was misunderstood, apparently, with people saying he claimed LeBron was going to be the best player in NBA history when he retired from the game. At the time of the interview, LeBron was still in the quest for his first NBA championship.
“I never said that LeBron was the greatest. That was never said,” Pippen said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “I said by the end of his career, his numbers will be better. And I still stand by that. I think LeBron’s numbers are crazy only because he’s going to get in more years than Michael Jordan.
“Michael probably really only played 11 years in this league, and when you look at a kid like LeBron, who started at 18, 19 years old, he’s probably going to pass Michael by his numbers in his first 10, 11 years in the league.”
Things got really awkward after that, with Scottie being asked who he would pick to be his running mate or swingman between MJ and Bron. His response couldn’t be clearer, as he reminded people that he hadn’t a relationship with James.
“That’s a dumb— question,” Pippen said. “I’ve never done anything with LeBron. I wouldn’t take LeBron to the movies with me.”
The NBA is a wild world and every now and then we see big proof of that every day. We don’t know what kind of question was that (a dumb one, according to Scottie) but the player set the record straight. He has a very good relationship with Jordan, they created one of the best duos in league history and all of that doesn’t seem to be changing in the near future.
