Michael Jordan 'Would Never Have Been Michael Jordan' Without Bulls’ Teammates, Scottie Pippen Says

Scottie Pippen has a lot of issues with Michael Jordan, and he isn’t shy about sharing them. In his upcoming memoir, Pippen claims he and his Chicago Bulls teammates are partially responsible for Jordan becoming one of the world’s greatest athletes.

An excerpt from Pippen’s book published in GQ makes it clear that the NBA Hall of Famer believes members of the 1990s Bulls dynasty don’t get enough credit for Jordan’s success.

“Michael Jordan would never have been Michael Jordan without me, Horace Grant, Toni Kukoc, John Paxson, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, Bill Cartwright, Ron Harper, B. J. Armstrong, Luc Longley, Will Perdue and Bill Wennington,” Pippen says in “Unguarded.” “I apologize to anyone I’ve left out.

“I’m not suggesting Michael wouldn’t have been a superstar wherever he ended up. He was that spectacular. Just that he relied on the success we attained as a team — six titles in eight years — to propel him to a level of fame throughout the world no other athlete, except for Muhammad Ali, has reached in modern times.”

Pippen was particularly irked by “The Last Dance,” the 10-part ESPN documentary detailing Jordan’s final run with Chicago in the 1997-98 NBA season. Jordan had final say on what could be included in the series, which aired in April and May 2020.

“I was nothing more than a prop,” Pippen said of his portrayal in the documentary. “His ‘best teammate of all time,’ he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried.”

Pippen was the second-best player on the Bulls teams that went undefeated in the NBA Finals from 1991-1993 and then again in 1996-1998. Pippen was a seven-time All-Star and a three-time All-NBA First Team selection. With Jordan retired for the 1993-1994 season, Pippen led Chicago to 55 wins and finished third in the NBA voting.

Pippen said he spoke to several teammates who also felt disrespected by “The Last Dance.” The 56-year-old was upset that Jordan made $10 million for his role in the documentary, while no other Bulls players were paid.

“Michael was determined to prove to the current generation of fans that he was larger than life during his day — and still larger than LeBron James, the player many consider his equal, if not superior. So Michael presented his story,” Pippen said of Jordan, whom he dubbed the documentary’s “leading man and the director.”

Pippen’s memoir comes out Nov. 9.