Scottie Pippen Shockingly Bares Truth About Being Tagged As Michael Jordan's 'Sidekick'

Scottie Pippen has lifted the lid on one what appears to be one of the most notable misconceptions in his career.

Michael Jordan won all of his six NBA championships alongside Pippen and the Chicago Bulls.

Despite Jordan raving about Pippen’s qualities as a player in “The Last Dance,” many are still talking down the then-Bulls forward as Jordan’s “sidekick.”

Addressing the said stigma in his legacy, Pippen blamed the “media” for glorifying Jordan just to get an “opportunity” to become his acquaintance.

In the process, Pippen implied that the Jordan “frenzy” reached the point where everything was about him and there was no room for others to shine.

“That was the public perspective,” Pippen exclusively told GQ. “That ain’t Michael’s fault. He wasn’t writing the articles. But it was the cheerleaders that were behind Michael Jordan that were doing whatever they can to appease him, to get his vote. [Laughs.] They felt they could get close to him.”

“Because [the media] were going through a bit of a frenzy, to some degree,” he continued. “They were cheerleaders. They were fans because they were going through something they’d never seen before: an iconic basketball [star] with global appeal. That was shocking to them."

"They were meeting media people who were flying from different countries just to meet Michael Jordan, just to see Micahel Jordan. It was something for American media to feel like they had over the world. You know? They’d say: ‘We got Michael Jordan,’ or ‘I’m friends with him,’ or ‘He jokes with us.’ They were all looking at it as an opportunity to get close to Mike.”

“That’s how the brands portrayed him/ That’s how Gatorade portrayed him, how Nike portrayed him. I don’t wanna say they tricked the media, but they controlled them. [Laughs.]”

Pippen is looking forward to releasing his memoir entitled “Unguarded” this fall.

“This is a story that needed to be told,” the seven-time NBA All-Star said of his upcoming book. “People needed to know a little bit more about me and my career. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. And I thought that this is the time.”

“I think people need something to read and learn about,” he added. “There’s a new generation that’s come about since my career in the nineties. So, I’m feeding them that literature of what life was like for me growing up as a young kid while telling them a lot about my career.”