The sports documentary “The Last Dance” painted Michael Jordan as a relentless tyrant willing to cross lines to get what he wanted. This persona inevitably instilled fear in most of his teammates. Their relationship with the MJ was purely professional.
Like Mike
This wasn’t the case for Scottie Pippen. While he didn’t possess Jordan’s autocratic tendencies, Pippen shared his undying passion for success. This created an interesting rift within the small forward. Chicago Bulls power forward Horace Grant observed that even after Pip received a massive verbal beatdown from MJ, he would keep coming back to him.
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“He’d want to be like Michael,” Grant said. “But then, after he’d hang around Michael for a while and Michael might not treat him how he liked, he’d come back and sit with us. Then he’d go back again. We were closer friends, but something always brought Scottie back to Michael.”
Was Pip yearning to be some type of tyrant? Did he want to have full control of his soldiers the way MJ did? This wasn’t necessarily the case. Pippen hung out with Jordan because he knew the shooting guard was easily the best basketball player then.
Iron sharpens iron, as they say. Pippen realized he was in a great spot to polish his skills as a defender and scorer. Hanging around with Michael made Scottie a better player. Pip tried his best to endure MJ’s fiery persona because of its long-term benefits.
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“I missed him as a teammate when he left,” says Pippen. “He taught me a lot, but mostly it was fun in practice. That changed after he left. I loved competing against him, trying to beat him, although I’ll admit most of the time he got the best of me. But it was such a challenge to stop a spectacular player like that.”
The spotlight
Spending extra time with Mike, no matter how difficult, paid off. When the GOAT retired in 1993 to play baseball, Pippen was thrust into a new position. Suddenly, Scottie became the Bulls’ captain and leader. He needed to elevate his game on all fronts — a mission he accomplished, at least according to Dennis Rodman.
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“When Michael Jordan left in ’93, ’94, ’95, Scottie Pippen was the best player in the world. And people didn’t know that. He led the team in every category, every category,” Rodman said.
“Scottie got his wings in 1991 when they beat the Detroit Pistons,” Dennis added. “He got his wings then, and he started on that trend from winning three championships. When Michael left, Scottie took over – and next thing you know, he was the best player in the world. And people don’t know that!”
Pippen guided the Bulls to a stellar 55-27 record in the Jordan-less 1993-94 season. He averaged career highs in almost every statistical category. The Bulls were eliminated in the second round by the New York Knicks, but most analysts felt that the team needed at least one more season together with Scottie at the helm to return to championship status.
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Whatever the case is, the real ones know that without Pippen, Jordan wouldn’t have won six NBA Championships. Scottie was more than a sidekick. He’s one of the league’s greatest players.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.