Ex-NBA Star Scottie Pippen On LeBron James: 'He Ain't Better Than Me'

Retired NBA star Scottie Pippen insinuated he was better than Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James and cited championships as a reason.

Pippen, 52, scoffed when he was asked if James was superior to his former Chicago Bulls teammate Michael Jordan. He said James wasn’t better than Jordan, let alone himself until James wins more NBA championships.

"LeBron ain't better than me until he gets six titles," Pippen told TMZ Sports Wednesday.

The six-time NBA champion openly critiqued James several times before. Pippen took to ESPN’s sports talk show "First Take" Dec. 14 and said that "statistically" James overtook Jordan.

"Here's why. He [LeBron] fills the stats up across the board night in and night out," Pippen told host Stephen A. Smith. "You're talking about a kid who can easily average a triple-double if he chooses to. I don't think Michal Jordan had that option. It's not his demeanor as a player."

Pippen doubled down on his stance in May when he stated James had not yet surpassed retired NBA champion Kobe Bryant during an appearance on ESPN's "SportsCenter."

"I don't think he's surpassed Kobe at all, no. And I don't think he should be compared to either of those players (Jordan and Kobe) because they're playing different positions. Kobe and Michael are both 2 guards. They're both scorers. They're mostly like a Kyrie (Irving) — they're looking to score the basketball," Pippen said.

Meanwhile, James, 33, is averaging 28.2 points on 57.2 percent shooting from the field, 9.3 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game for the 2017-18 season. As of Wednesday, his Cavaliers were ranked second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-9.

James won just three NBA championships to Jordan’s six so far. James, however, named Jordan as inspiration for his career.

"Um, I think, first of all, you know, I wear the number because of Mike," he told The Undefeated in an interview released in May. " I think I fell in love with the game because of Mike, just seeing what he was able to accomplish. But I felt like Mike was so — you know, when you’re growing up and you’re seeing Michael Jordan, it’s almost like a god."