Toni Kukoc’s relationship with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen didn’t start the best way. Seeing how high former Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause was on Kukoc, the duo made him a target, going off on him when they faced off in the 1992 Summer Olympics.
They clashed twice during that tournament, with the Dream Team getting the W each time. Jordan and Pippen showed Kukoc who was in charge, and they did the same after the Croatian player joined the Chicago Bulls a couple of years later.
It wasn’t easy, but the three players made amends and became good friends (even though there were some uncomfortable moments along the way), taking the Chicago Bulls to three more championships from 1996 through 1998.
On Saturday, Kukoc was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He remembered all the good and bad things he lived during his time with the Bulls, thanking the Jordan-Pippen duo for teaching him a lesson more than once.
“I would like to thank Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen for kicking my butt during the Olympics in Barcelona, and then motivating me to work even harder to become an important part of the Chicago Bulls,” Kukoc said during his Hall of Fame induction speech.
"I would like to thank Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen for kicking my butt during the Olympics in Barcelona, and then motivating me to work even harder to become an important part of the Chicago Bulls." – Toni Kukoc pic.twitter.com/dPihZfdudB
— NBA (@NBA) September 12, 2021
Toni needed to adapt to the NBA and playing alongside two monsters like MJ and Pippen. He became a key piece of the Bulls’ second three-peat, helping the team in every possible way, becoming a legend.
Several years after his retirement, the Croatian is finally a Hall of Famer. He played really well with the Bulls, but Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen helped him a lot. Kukoc never forgot that, and he made it clear on Saturday night.
