Scottie Pippen once shockingly blamed Michael Jordan for taking "all the clutch genes" out of him
Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan won six championships as teammates on the Chicago Bulls. The seven-time All-Star once blamed his longtime teammate for his lack of clutch genes while speaking on ESPN's The Jump, saying:
"I’m not afraid to say that I don’t have clutch genes. I played with a guy that took all the clutch genes out of me. I had the best clutch player ever. I'm all good with that."
Pippen later added:
"Listen, you know what, it was a relationship that me and Michael had. A relationship where I knew where I wanted the ball at the end of the game, I knew who wanted the ball at the end of the game... Someone took the clutch gene out of me... You would never see a game where Michael would be standing watching somebody take the last shot. That would just kill him."
While Scottie Pippen is regarded as one of the greatest players of his era, most of his career was spent playing in the shadow of Michael Jordan. It should come as no surprise that the Hall of Famer had no issues deferring to the five-time NBA MVP.
Watch Scottie Pippen's comments below:
From #TheJump: The time when Scottie Pippen said "I'm not afraid to say it, I don't have a clutch gene," and T-Mac asked him about the 1.8 😂 https://t.co/XKahDdCgru
Scottie Pippen once refused to enter game for the Bulls in Michael Jordan's absence
While Scottie Pippen had no issues deferring to Michael Jordan, that was not the case when the superstar guard walked away from the sport for nearly two seasons. Pippen refused to enter a 1994 postseason game when the Chicago Bulls played the New York Knicks after head coach Phil Jackson drew the final play of a tie game for Toni Kukoc.
The Hall of Famer described the incident while speaking with GQ, saying:
"I don’t think it’s a mystery, you need to read between the fine lines. It was my first year playing without Michael Jordan, why wouldn’t I be taking that last shot? I been through all the ups and downs, the battles with the Pistons and now you gonna insult me and tell me to take it out? I thought it was a pretty low blow."
Pippen added that he felt it was his team with Michael Jordan no longer around and that he'd earned the opportunity:
"Why are you trying to let him be the hero? He ain’t the leader of this team. No. You trying to make him a hero to hit that shot. If he misses, he playing wit’ house money. He playing what I done earned here. Okay? I have been earning this for Michael Jordan for years and he gets the last shot. And I’m supposed to step inside and let Kukoc get in there?"
While Kukoc made the shot at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 104-102 win, Pippen was not thrilled with being overlooked for his rookie teammate.
Watch below the final sequence of the game Scottie Pippen refused to re-enter: