Is Scottie Pippen still beefing with Michael Jordan? What the No Bull Australia tour revealed about the former Chicago Bulls teammates’ complicated relationship
During their time playing together, the 90s Bulls won six championships, solidifying the team as one of the best the league has ever seen.
Despite complimenting each other on the court in their heyday, rivalry between star players Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had brewed particularly strongly. The two made headlines again this year when Pippen’s ex-wife, The Real Housewives of Miami star Larsa Pippen, reportedly ended things with Jordan’s son Marcus, in a romance that lasted a little more than a year.
But the tension between the two had been years in the making. At the height of the team’s success, rumours of animosity between them were prevalent. Pippen had never been afraid of speaking his mind – he called Jordan a “horrible player” soon before joining the Bulls himself in 1993.
Jordan, however, at times maintained throughout the years that he owed his success to a great team, going as far as saying that he couldn’t win without Pippen. He even called Pippen his “best teammate of all time” in his 2020 Netflix documentary series The Last Dance, which was perhaps his biggest step towards burying the hatchet.
Let’s take a look at their relationship …
Michael Jordan’s very public dig at Scottie Pippen
The Last Dance followed the Chicago Bulls’ sixth championship win in eight seasons, documenting the 1997-1998 period from Jordan’s perspective. Generally well-received by fans, the show offered a rare look into the inner workings of an NBA team from the perspective of, arguably, the greatest player the sport has ever seen.
However, when it first screened, it was widely reported that the Bulls teammates felt the series was too centred on Jordan’s perspective, and that Pippen especially might have been offended by some of Jordan’s comments on the show.
Among the criticisms Jordan shared in the 10 episodes, he said he felt that Pippen was selfish for delaying on his ankle surgery, thus missing the first part of the 1997-1998 season, which might have affected the team’s overall performance.
Scottie Pippen’s clapbacks after The Last Dance
After The Last Dance aired, Pippen took several opportunities to let the world know his feelings were hurt. On Stacey King’s Gimme The Hot Sauce podcast, he praised LeBron James for being the greatest player statically, while refusing to acknowledge Jordan’s legacy as the best in the game.
“I saw Jordan play before I came to play with the Bulls. You guys saw him play. He was horrible to play with. He was all one-on-one, he’s shooting bad shots and all of a sudden we become a team and we start winning and everybody forgot who he was,” Pippen said on the podcast.
Things get personal
Things got worse – and more awkward – in 2022, when the two’s personal lives became increasingly intertwined.
Michael’s son, Marcus Jordan, started dating Scottie’s ex-wife Larsa Pippen, who is 16 years his senior. Things got serious between the two though, with a wedding widely rumoured to be in the works in November last year.
This relationship further fuelled the so-called feud between Michael and Scottie. When ambushed by a TMZ reporter last August, who asked Michael for his thoughts on Marcus and Larsa’s relationship, he simply replied, “No.”
Earlier this year, Larsa, 49, and Marcus, 33, ended their relationship after Larsa reportedly realised Jordan wasn’t the guy for her.
Scottie Pippen takes his revenge on the road
In what many fans saw as an attempt to clap back at Jordan and The Last Dance, Pippen, Horace Grant and Luc Longley went on the No Bull Australia tour in late February this year, in partnership with the host country’s National Basketball League. The tour made stops in Tasmania, Melbourne and Sydney, giving basketball fans the chance to meet some of their heroes up close.
The tour caused quite a stir within the basketball community as soon as it was announced. Sportscaster and TV personality Stephen A. Smith commented that Pippen was trying to win a battle that’s already been won: “Scottie Pippen is going to embarrass himself … Everybody knows he’s not Michael Jordan; he never was. But he’s doing this because he’s given resistance to what was portrayed in the documentary series. It’s a huge mistake.”
The public saw the No Bull tour as clapback at Jordan and how he presented his teammates in the docuseries.
Reconciliation in the works?
To the surprise of many though, the tour was anything but that. The live show’s audience was quick to show support for the three players. Sports commentators noted that the show felt more like three friends joking and talking about the good old days rather than an exposé of Jordan.
The three players fondly remembered their time on the team and shared what it was like to play alongside the league’s greatest star, Jordan, and to be coached by the Bulls’ iconic manager, Phil Jackson.
In a promotional interview with Australia’s Today show, Pippen softened on his position on The Last Dance and Jordan, acknowledging his fellow teammate’s achievements and his many MVP titles.
Only time will tell if the two have fully put their differences behind them. But whatever their personal feelings about each other, there’s no denying the two had one of the most successful partnerships in sports history.
