"Scottie got a knot on his head": Michael Jordan once took it personally when 'little brother' Scottie Pippen got picked on by Pat Riley's Heat
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dominated the 1990s and there is not even a need to canvass support for that. Jordan was fearless, he was vindictive, and for many, he was so obsessed with winning that they didn’t hesitate to call him a psycho. He had a habit of taking almost everything on and off the court personally just to motivate himself for the next game.
That’s exactly what happened when the Miami Heat played a physical game against the Bulls in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Finals duel in 1997.
Miami was trailing 0-3 in the series and head coach Pat Riley couldn’t fathom getting swept in the series. The next game, Riley’s Heat came all roughed up and surprised the Bulls with their physicality. To Pat’s credit, Miami won Game 4 of the series, circumventing a sweep.
Game 4 against the Heat left Jordan and the Bulls scarred not only physically but mentally as well. While Scottie Pippen told the Washington Post that the Bulls’ manhood was tested, Jordan said that it had become personal to him. Alluding to the knot on Pippen’s head, MJ also called for the Bulls to come together as a family for the next game.
"Scottie got a knot on his head, I got a knot on my head. Dennis got punched out, we got punched out," Michael Jordan said.
"When your little brother gets picked on, it's time for the family to come together," he stressed.
Michael Jordan didn’t let it slide and perhaps Riley also knew he had woken up the ruthless killer. The Bulls headed back to Chicago and Jordan and the Bulls hit them so hard that throughout the game, the Miami Heat didn’t even come close. Jordan was ruthless, and with exact physicality, the Bulls won the series with a blowout 100-87 win.
Scottie Pippen blames Michael Jordan for self-glorification in The Last Dance
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen achieved a lot together and were two of the most important people to set the cornerstone for arguably the greatest NBA dynasty. However, their recent feud has made so many headlines that it is difficult to imagine they were good friends once.
After The Last Dance was released, Scottie Pippen told The Guardian that the documentary was more about Jordan's achievements than the Bulls' as a team. Pippen also blamed MJ for glorifying and uplifting himself in the docuseries.
If their beef about the docuseries was not enough, the romantic linkup between Scottie’s ex-wife Larsa Pippen and Michael Jordan's son Marcus Jordan made it even more aggravated. They have been dating since 2022 and recently announced that they are set to get married very soon.