Scottie Pippen once accused Phil Jackson of being racist citing infamous 1994 playoffs incident: "It was a racial move"
During his time with the Chicago Bulls, Scottie Pippen didn't have many dust-ups with head coach Phil Jackson. However, there was one incident when he accused him of being racist. These comments stemmed from a decision he made during the final seconds of a playoff game.
While facing off against the New York Knicks in the playoffs, the Bulls found themselves with an opportunity to win the game in the final seconds. Scottie Pippen expected for the final play to be drawn up for him. However, Jackson called a play for rookie Toni Kukoc.
When Pippen realized what was going on, he refused to enter the game out of a timeout. Later, he said Jackson's decision to call a play for Kukoc was racially motivated.
"I felt like it was an opportunity to give (Kukoč) a rise," Pippen told GQ. "It was a racial move to give him a rise. After all I’ve been through with this organization, now you're gonna tell me to take the ball out and throw it to Toni Kukoč? You’re insulting me."
"Why would Toni, who's a rookie, get the last-second shot and you put me out of bounds? That's what I mean racial," Pippen said.
Phil Jackson gives his side of Scottie Pippen benching story
Scottie Pippen might not have liked what Phil Jackson did, but it ended up being the right move. With just 1.8 seconds left in the game, Toni Kukoc knocked down a fadeaway jumper to win the game for the Chicago Bulls.
After the game, the legendary head coach talked about the scuffle he had with his star forward. He gave a quick synopsis of what happened before quickly moving on from the topic.
"As far as the last play of the game goes, Scottie Pippen was not involved in that play, he asked out of the play, I left him off the floor," Jackson said.
In the past, the final play would have gone gone to Michael Jordan. However, the star guard retired that year to pursue a career in baseball.
Part of why Pippen likely didn't get the call is because of how things went the possesion prior. In the heat of a neck-and-neck game, the All-Star forward committed a turnover after not being able to get a shot off in time. Because of that, Patrick Ewing was able to come down the floor and tie the game for the New York Knicks.
Because Jackson held his ground and didn't give in to his disgruntled star, the Bulls were able to come away with a win.