If there are any two athletes within the history of sports that remain synonymous with each other, they’re Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. The pair of basketball hall of famers played alongside each other as members of the Chicago Bulls and, together, they dominated the ‘90s-era NBA. In recent years, details about Jordan and Pippen’s relationship off the court have been revealed and, at this point, the two stars remain estranged. Still, Pippen continues to receive Jordan-related questions, and he has strong feelings about that.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen haven’t played together since the 1997-1998 NBA season, which they capped off with their sixth (and final) championship title. So, needless to say, it’s been some time since the two sports legends were actually teammates. Given their accomplishments and professional histories, though, it’s honestly understandable as to why Pippen continues to be asked about his on-court partner. Despite that, Pippen told EL PAÍS (via Basketball Network) how tired he is of the queries on a numerical scale:
Is ten the highest score or the lowest? Then I’d say probably a 12. I’ve been used to it since my first day in the NBA. Everything has always revolved around Michael Jordan. But you know, I’m happy I was able to leave my own legacy and not have to talk about him all the time.
Pippen’s feelings are indeed understandable, considering that he has been linked to “His Airness” for decades at this point. I’d imagine that when it comes to certain subjects, there are only so many times that a person wants to talk things out. Such a level of candidness from Pippen during that interview definitely tracks with his public persona. The Arkansas native is known for not mincing words when discussing certain subjects, and that’s certainly been the case as far as Jordan has been concerned.
In 2021, Scottie Pippen shared blunt thoughts on Michael Jordan, which were related to the docuseries The Last Dance (which is streamable with a Netflix subscription). Pippen was of the position that Jordan – whose production company had editorial control on the show – disregarded the contributions of his teammates and propped up himself via the series. Since then, the former small forward has continued to lay into Jordan, even calling him a “horrible” player.
The array of comments shared by “Pip” have seemingly broken down the public assumption that he and MJ were close throughout their years as players. During another recent interview, Pippen even doubled down on the fact that he and Jordan don’t talk at this point. Even though they “never were great friends,” Pippen has complimented his ex-teammate on a number of occasions over the last few years and would seemingly agree with the assessment that Jordan is the GOAT.
Such praise still hasn’t translated into any kind of reconciliation between Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan, though. At this point, it seems the beloved players will continue to keep their distance from each other. In the meantime, it also feels likely that Pippen will continue to receive questions about his time playing with “Air Jordan.”