NBA Twitter reacts to Scottie Pippen’s wild Michael Jordan take
NBA Twitter reacts to Scottie Pippen’s wild Michael Jordan take originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
There are hot takes, and then there’s what Scottie Pippen recently had to say about Michael Jordan.
During an appearance on Stacey King’s “Gimme the Hot Sauce” podcast, Pippen described Jordan as a “horrible player” early in his NBA career.
“I’ve seen Michael Jordan play before I came to play with the Bulls. You guys have seen him play. He was a horrible player. He was horrible to play with. He was all one-on-one, shooting bad shots,” Pippen said.
“All of a sudden, we become a team and we start winning, everybody forgot who he was. He was a player that, really, winning wasn’t at the top of his category. It was scoring. He was going after scoring titles. It wasn’t until Phil Jackson showed up that kind of changed the menu a little bit. And that still took some time.”
For some context, Pippen joined the Bulls starting in Jordan’s fourth season and Phil Jackson took over as head coach for Jordan’s sixth season. In Jordan’s first five NBA seasons, he was a five-time All-Star who won three scoring titles, one Defensive Player of the Year award and one MVP. The Bulls made the playoffs in all five seasons, losing in the first round three times, Round 2 once and the conference finals once.
Yes, Chicago didn’t win a title until Jackson’s second season at the helm. But to say Jordan was a “horrible” player before that is ridiculous even when you factor in the beef between the former teammates.
Here’s how basketball fans reacted to Pippen’s comments:
I normally applaud Scottie Pippenâs flip flop shots at MJ but itâs reached a sad place. Sucks they accomplished so much together and all Scottie feels is bitterness.
— Josh Eberley ð¨ð¦ (@JoshEberley) May 26, 2023
Scottie Pippen way too elite and accomplished to be going out like this.
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod ð¸ð´ (@big_business_) May 26, 2023
June 3rd, 1990, Game 7 Box score of the Bulls loss in the Eastern Conference Finals vs the Pistonsâ¦.MJ was ready to win titles by 88, but none of his teammates, Scottie Pippen included, were anywhere close to ready. Whatever the reason, the Pippen comments are appalling. pic.twitter.com/tLWatevLVT
— See Red Fred (@cbefred) May 27, 2023
I just canât anymore with this guy. MJ was a horrible player? Really? Pettiness 30 years down the road is not a good look. He is still bitter MJ got the first $30M a year deal and he signed for peanuts. Letâs just call it like it is. But this right here is straight craziness. https://t.co/vgRQkhQD7l
— The Coach (@TheCoachrules) May 26, 2023
You ain’t got to like the guy, but anyone that says “Michael Jordan is a horrible player” is clearly harboring some deep-rooted resentment.
Jordan held the Chicago Bulls to the same high standard he held himself. The man spent every morning shooting 1000 shots — which is 200⦠https://t.co/j2kwF29MAW
— Just Alyx (@JustAlyxCentral) May 26, 2023
Watching this makes me genuinely sad. Scottie brought so much joy to so many people. The fact that it all left him with such bitterness is a terrible shame. https://t.co/RHvmbm085V
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) May 26, 2023
Source: Yahoo Sports
