Ex-NBA Superstar Assumed Michael Jordan Would Compare Him To Scottie Pippen

Former Washington Wizards superstar Gilbert Arenas recently revealed how he assumed that Michael Jordan would compare him to Scottie Pippen.

In a recent interview with Fubo Sports, three-time NBA All-Star Arenas looked back at the time when he was a Camp councilor at Jordan Camp in 1999. According to Arenas, Jordan would organize pick-up games at night and he was selected by the former Bulls star to play for his side for an entire week along with a “bunch of no-ones.”

The then-NBA prospect admitted that at the time, he was a “ball hog,” meaning he never passed the ball and everytime he subbed in to the game, he always shot the ball, scoring 40 points per game. But aside from his impressive scoring ability, Arenas said that MJ noticed his work ethic, which reminded the NBA Hall of Famer of one of his former teammates. Arenas was confident that Jordan would say Pippen’s name but unfortunately, MJ likened him to a less-famed Bulls player, Randy Brown.

“I think what MJ seen was 6 o’clock in the morning I’m training, I’m training during council breaks, at lunch I’m training, after the game I’m training,” Arenas recalled. “I think he has seen the determination that I had.”

“I remember he said, ‘you remind me of a player in my team’,” he continued. “And no discredit to the player, but when he told me the player’s name I was really pissed. He was like ‘yeah you remind of this player that I played with.’ I’m like ‘ohhh Scottie Pippen?, yeahhhh! I’m Scottie!’ He was like ‘Randy Brown.’ I said ‘who?’ He said, ‘Randy Brown.’ I was [like] ‘What do you mean Randy Brown? What are you talkin’ about’?”

Arenas managed to make a name for himself in the NBA. He had his best season with the Wizards in 2005-06 where he averaged almost 29 points per game. However, no matter how many times Arenas tried to impress Jordan on the court, there’s a very slim chance MJ would compare him to Pippen as the NBA icon himself once admitted that his former Bulls co-star is a one-of-a-kind player.

“I would never be able to find another tandem, another support system in the game of basketball like Scottie Pippen,” Jordan said in “The Last Dance.”“He helped me so much in the way I approached the game, the way I played the game. Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen.”