"It hurts a lot": Scottie Pippen once lamented lost bond with Michael Jordan as former teammates' feud rages on
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen looked like the closest of friends on a basketball court. The duo led the Chicago Bulls to six championships, going 6-0 in the NBA Finals. Their chemistry and understanding of each other helped elevate the team to a dynastic run in the 90s. Unfortunately, what they stood for on the court was nowhere near what they were off of it.
Pippen’s shocking lack of closeness to Jordan came out in “Pip’s” book, Unguarded, which was released in 2021. The memoir was his version of the story which the point-forward said wasn’t given justice in The Last Dance.
Here’s what Scottie Pippen wrote about his relationship with Michael Jordan:
“I don’t usually allow our lack of closeness to bother me. I have plenty of friends. Yet there are occasions, and watching the doc was definitely one, when I think about the relationship I wish the two of us had, and it hurts.
"It hurts a lot. By no means am I an innocent party here. I missed some openings that might have made a difference, and I have to live with that.”
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen played 691 games together in the regular season. One of the most fearsome duos in NBA history was with the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs for 168 games. Despite the adversity they had to go through, particularly during those early years getting beat up by the Detroit Pistons, they were not close friends.
Fortunately for the Bulls, the gap in their relationship never showed up in their quest for basketball glory. During their peak, they consistently crushed opponents. Several NBA greats retired not having won a championship because Jordan and Pippen ruled the league in the 90s.
Scottie Pippen regretted not reaching out to Michael Jordan when James Jordan Sr. was murdered
In his book, Unguarded, Scottie Pippen rued missed opportunities that could have made him and Michael Jordan close. The two had shared numerous battles on the basketball court. It was unfortunate they couldn’t share some of life’s adversities.
Here’s Pippen on perhaps the biggest reason why he and Jordan never became close:
“Another opportunity, if you can call it that, came during the summer of 1993, and I feel horrible every time I think about it. Michael’s father, James Jordan, had been murdered. The two were inseparable.
"When I heard the news, I should have reached out to Michael right away. Instead, I went through the Bulls’ PR department, and once they told me no one from the organization had been in contact with him, I gave up.
Pippen added:
“Having lost my own dad three years before, I might have been able to offer Michael some comfort. To this day, he and I haven’t spoken about his father’s death.”
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had already won three championships before James Jordan Sr. was killed. It felt natural for the two best players on the Chicago Bulls to bond even more, but couldn’t do that.
Jordan has not publicly replied to Pippen’s book. The two may never speak to each other again.