Do you think that deep down inside that Pippen believes that he was better than Jordan?

[Sprewell4Three]

he might tell himself he was better but there's no way he believes that deep down inside.

Pippen has always been a whiny head case with a super fragile ego, and to me his current attitude seems like an unfortunate continuation of his residual anger and refusal to accept his own shortcomings with his contract negotation stupidity and his perception as Jordan's sidekick. The contract stuff is 100% his own fault, but he keeps trying to shift the blame to the Bulls FO rather than face up to reality.

and he ought to be on his knees every single day thanking God for Michael Jordan as a teammate, because without MJ, Pippen would have never been considered one of the greats. I think Scottie was probably one of the best complementary guys of all time, but he's become overrated in modern fans' minds and never had the mental fortitude and ability to lead a team to sustained success as the top guy. If you give me every player in NBA history to start a team with, Scottie Pippen is pretty far down my list.

Exaclty we talk about Pippen because he played to the greatest player of all time. Kevin McHale was probably a better player then Pippen but never gets near the attention.
And you're right , I feel these out bursts from Pippen are all continuations of all his short comings in his career. Migraine game, deciding to sit during a playoff game against the Knicks, sitting out because of a contract situation etc.

[KGtabake]

I think that deep down inside me Pippen has killed all the love i had for him back in the day.

[Dino353]

Let's just disregard the fact that Scottie Pippen was a perennial All-NBA selection for over 7-8 seasons All-NBA 1st Team at that and All-NBA Defense 1st team over 4-5 times. He was just as good as Jordan , these Jordan fans are the same Kobe fans who talk like Pau Gasol wasn't All-NBA the two years they won the title 09-10.

Scottie Pippen was easily a top 7 player in the 90's arguably top 4. No one in the 90's had his versatility on both ends of the floor period.

[druggas]

Hell to the no. Until recently, he was saying Jordan was the goat over Lebron. People seem to forget that. He's just trying to sell a book. He's also pissed off about the documentary.

[MakeItSplash]

Watch on YouTube

[BigGargamel]

Pippen is just trying to sell his book. Any publicity is good publicity.

[tidho]

i think he knows Jordan was better but, if you consider the disparity of fame, notoriety, off court opportunity, and reverence it far exceeds the disparity in ability and contribution to those teams. i think that's really what eats at him.

[cupcakesnake]

No. But I get why Pippen has ended up this jaded, resentful old guy. Media and fans love to lean on a narrative where basketball is an individual sport. Where 1 great player is surrounded by sidekicks of various levels of importance. Pippen knows how integral he was to the Bulls all-time great defense, running the triangle offense, and being the main component of the Bulls transition attack. It's a fact that MJ doesn't win 6 championships without Pippen (or a comparably impactful player with a similar fit) But he spends his whole life reading about the legend of MJ, how he's a sidekick, has people questioning his merit blah blah blah.

Ever felt underappreciated at your job and gone a little neurotic over it? You should empathize with Pippen. I agree he seems pretty dislikable now, but I kinda see how he got there. Also, even during his playing days, Pippen was an ornery grudge holder.

[jokeboy86]

In some way, probably similar to how I think deep down some of the players in the 80s and early 90s think Bird and Magic were better players than Jordan its just saying that publicly these days is akin to saying something bad about Beyonce. It shouldn't surprise people that a lot of ex-players who played before Jordan's era or during his era think he was an elite scorer and great defender but that other players were more well rounded.

[VanWest82]

No. Even Scottie doesn't think that.

[Liqourish]

No, I just think he's tired of the over the top glory bestowed upon Jordan, even at the expense of other great players, like himself. And he's right. No need to continually bash others to prop Jordan up. Jordan is top 5 all time. Pippen is not. But Pippen was damn good. And Jordan never won without him (or the league watering down defenses but thats another conversation). They needed each other. and Pippens first hand accounts of what happened during that time shouldn't be ignored just because it doesn't shed the best light on the guy most of y'all grew up idolizing.

[magicman1978]

I don't think Scottie thinks he's better, he just believes he needs more credit (generally he did and does get a lot of credit though). But I'm not sure why he's taking things out on Jordan, when Jordan has been nothing but complimentary of how important Pippen was - e.g., first sentence in his HOF speech saying there's no Jordan without Pippen and statements like the one below:

Watch on YouTube

[dickfox]

Probably not better but on the same level or just as valuable. I think he's just so bitter because he was so underpaid with that second contract.

[magicman1978]

Probably not better but on the same level or just as valuable. I think he's just so bitter because he was so underpaid with that second contract.

He's definitely still bitter about that, but he also needs to accept some of the blame for taking the contract against the advice of everyone, including Reinsdorf. Then he also needs to realize that they paid him $10 in his last two years when he was done and only played 23 games. Then they paid him $1M a year for 15 years to be a team ambassador (with pretty much no responsibilities) and then het got upset and blew up the deal, citing a lack of respect, when they were asking him to do more.

[trueballer7]

No. Otherwise he'd have forced his way out of Chicago. Pippen knew he never had the makings of even a second fiddle in a basketball dynasty, away from Jordan he wouldnt be over a Derrick Coleman or a Penny Hardaway etc. Pippen is all about crying and complaining, he's been doing that for 35 years.

[Lalouie]

I have been watching his interviews and it seems like he wants to just come out and say it.

no, but i'm pretty positive he feels without him mj gets no rings.
and to be honest, mj was just a numbers scorer until the bulls drafetd grant and pippen

therefore pippen MUST feel that he was AS important as mj in grabbing those rings

[GSWFan1994]

Sorry, but the thread title reminded me of this great moment:

Watch on YouTube

[Cavsfansince84]

I don't think its helped that he's spent the last 5-6 years in the media getting asked about MJ v LeBron constantly.

[Jazztop]

I honestly thought that Scottie and Michael were still pretty tight. I know MJ fell out with Barkley. I think a lot of Scottie’s bitterness generally is more the fact that he lost $150 mil post retirement than any issues with his former coaches or teammates.

[jsleesl28]

in what way? lol

he did say he was the better teammate.

But I do believe without Pippen, the bulls dont win 6 championships.

I admire his talent, but Pip is just a weird dude.