In an excerpt from his new memoir, Scottie Pippen called out Michael Jordan and claimed that he and other former teammates felt ‘disrespected’ by the hit docuseries ‘The Last Dance.’
Over a year after ESPN’s sports docuseries The Last Dance came out, Scottie Pippen, 56, has shared his true feelings about the doc and former teammate Michael Jordan, 58. Scottie writes in his upcoming memoir Unguarded, out Nov. 9, that he felt “disrespected” by how he was portrayed in the series, which tells the story of Michael’s final season with the Chicago Bulls in 1997-1998. “Over the next few weeks, I spoke to a number of my former teammates who each felt as disrespected as I did,” Scottie wrote in his memoir, according to an excerpt obtained by GQ on Nov. 2. “How dare Michael treat us that way after everything we did for him and his precious brand,” Scottie added.
Scottie Pippen & Michael Jordan at 2010 Basketball Hall of Fame (Photo: Elise Amendola/AP/Shutterstock)
The retired forward went on to highlight how he and the other Bulls players — including Horace Grant, John Paxson, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, and more — played a role in the team’s success just as much as Michael did. “I’m not suggesting Michael wouldn’t have been a superstar wherever he ended up. He was that spectacular,” Scottie wrote. “Just that he relied on the success we attained as a team—six titles in eight years—to propel him to a level of fame throughout the world no other athlete, except for Muhammad Ali, has reached in modern times.”
Scottie specifically called out episode 2 of the sports doc, which was centered on his rise to the NBA but ended up also telling more about Michael’s story. “The narrative returned to MJ and his determination to win. I was nothing more than a prop,” Scotti said. “His ‘best teammate of all time,‘ he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried.” HollywoodLife has reached out to Michael’s rep for comment, but we haven’t heard back.
Scottie Pippen & Michael Jordan at 2010 Basketball Hall of Fame Ceremony (Photo: Elise Amendola/AP/Shutterstock)
The excerpt also includes a snippet of a texting conversation between Michael and Scottie after the 10-episode doc finished airing in May 2020. Michael texted first, writing, “What’s up dude? I’m getting word that you’re upset with me. Love to talk about it if you have time.” Scottie answered over an hour later and said “Let’s talk tomorrow” to the fellow NBA legend. From the excerpt, it’s unclear if the former teammates continued speaking beyond those messages.
Regardless of the drama, Scottie said that his years playing with the Bulls “were the most rewarding of my career.” “To be a member of the Bulls during the 1990s was to be part of something magical. For our times and for all time,” he said.
Want to hear more from Scottie? Pre-order his memoir, Ungarded, HERE.
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