Scottie Pippen continues feud against Michael Jordan: 'He was a horrible player'
Former Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen didn't take too kindly to how things were portrayed in "The Last Dance," and continues to fire back against what he considers false narratives about the '90s Bulls. That continued Friday, when Pippen referred to former teammate Michael Jordan as a "horrible player."
There's not a word in the English language to describe a take with this much heat. Pippen made those comments while appearing on the "Gimme the hot sauce!" podcast, which features Pippen's former teammate Stacey King, who now broadcasts Bulls games.
Pippen was asked about the greatest player of all time, and explained that he views basketball more as a team game. After discussing a number of players, Pippen finally focused on Jordan.
"I've seen Michael Jordan play before I came to play with the Bulls," Pippen said. "He was a horrible player. He was horrible to play with. He was all 1-on-1. He was shooting bad shots. And all of the sudden we become a team and we start winning."
Let's start with the obvious. It's incredibly hard to look at Jordan's stat page and argue he was a "horrible player" at any point in his career. Jordan averaged 31.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists in three seasons before Pippen was drafted. It's laughable to use the word "horrible" there.
The rest of Pippen's takedown, however, could have some truth to it. Being a "horrible player" and "horrible to play with" are two very different things. Jordan averaged a career-high 37.1 points per game the year before Pippen joined the team. That probably involved Jordan passing up some open teammates so he could pick up more baskets. Perhaps that rubbed teammates the wrong way.
To Pippen's point, Jordan's game did change after Pippen arrived. Over the next six seasons, Jordan averaged 6.2 assists and had a greater shooting percentage. That could be evidence Jordan began to trust teammates more and stopped forcing bad shots.
That all seems plausible if you watched "The Last Dance." As much as the series praised Jordan's accomplishments, it also leaned into some of his faults. He belittled teammates, he was petty and he took everything personally. Those aren't the best traits to have in a team game.
And yet, Pippen continues to take things too far. There are likely nuggets of truth in Pippen's words. But if you lead with an outlandish take calling Jordan a "horrible player," people are going to tune out whatever legitimate criticism comes next.
