Horace Grant on how important Scottie Pippen was for Bulls to win it all in 1998: "He sacrificed a lot in terms of his health"

Michael Jordan’s unparalleled greatness loomed so large over the Chicago Bulls franchise that it often eclipsed the crucial contributions of his teammates, whose efforts were instrumental in securing championship after championship. The release of “The Last Dance” documentary in 2020 did little to dispel this notion, as it focused primarily on Jordan’s impact and journey with the Bulls.

However, in a recent interview, former Bulls player Horace Grant shed light on the sacrifices that Scottie Pippen made to help lead the team to their sixth championship in 1998. Grant, who played alongside Pippen during the team’s first three-peat in the early ’90s, spoke about how Pippen’s health was jeopardized due to his dedication to the team.

Pippen’s bad back

While Pippen’s sore foot caused a lot of headlines — primarily due to his insistence on delaying the surgery for it — his bad back during the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, on the other hand, isn’t talked about as much. But according to the versatile forward, had the Jazz pulled off a victory in Game 6 to forge a winner-takes-all Game 7, his aching back wouldn’t have allowed him to take the court.

“I was done, pretty much,” Pippen declared. “I struggled to pull it through in that game and I suffered from it, still suffering from it but I wouldn’t have played in a Game 7, I just wasn’t able to go.”

“I knew on Saturday that I probably had one game left in me, and the start of that game I got a dunk early in the game and got banged a little by [Karl] Malone. That really put me back on my heels throughout that whole game, where I was running back to the locker room, [to get] cortisone, whatever kind of medication I could get in me, heat pack, whatever to try to carry on. I definitely was not able to play a Game 7,” he added.

Jordan and the Bulls eventually closed the Jazz out in Game 6 with a hard-earned 87-86 win that was made possible by Jordan’s heroic plays down the stretch. Still, Grant asserted that as much as Jordan deserves to be praised for his amazing performance in that game, it wouldn’t have been possible if the Bulls hadn’t had a strong supporting cast, including Pippen, who toughed it out and had eight points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 25 minutes.

“That’s what I don’t get. I mean, Pip really sacrificed a lot in terms of his health to help the Bulls with their success with that particular team,” Horace argued. “And for the narrative of him being selfish and things of that nature from The Last Dance… I think that was totally unfair.”

Scottie led the Bulls

Former Bulls big man Stacey King hasn’t been bashful about declaring Pip as the best teammate he has ever had.

While Jordan was all about fire and brimstone, be it against an opponent or even on his teammates, Pippen exuded calm under pressure, ensuring everyone on the team knew their value even when No. 23 dressed them down.

King even went as far as to say that if people polled the Bulls players regarding who the team’s leader was, he felt confident they would overwhelmingly say Pippen.

“If you ask who the leader was on that team, people would automatically say MJ because MJ’s the best player,” King said on his podcast. “But if you take a poll of every player on that team, I guarantee you 90 percent of them would say Scottie.”

“Because Scottie was always — to me — he was always the good cop to the bad cop,” he continued. “Whenever there was a situation where MJ would get on a teammate or try his way of pushing you to a certain level, Scottie could see and sense that it bothered you. He would come, put his arm around you, and say: ‘Hey man, don’t listen to him. We need you. We need you to do this. Just go do this and we’re going to be fine.'”

The Last Dance undoubtedly painted a picture of the Bulls that most basketball fans bought. After all, when Jordan preaches something, everyone is all ears. Interestingly, several Bulls players from that era have voiced concerns about alleged inaccuracies in the docuseries. One of the most notable criticisms is the insufficient recognition of Pippen’s leadership and crucial role on that team.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Horace Grant on how important Scottie Pippen was for Bulls to win it all in 1998: “He sacrificed a lot in terms of his health”

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