Scottie Pippen Slams Michael Jordan in Excerpt from Memoir: ‘Couldn’t Have Been More Condescending’

Entertainment Sports Scottie Pippen Slams Michael Jordan in Excerpt from Memoir: ‘Couldn’t Have Been More Condescending’ Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan’s former teammate, made the comments in Unguarded, his new memoir out Nov. 9 By Jason Hahn Jason Hahn Jason Hahn is a former Human Interest and Sports Reporter for PEOPLE. He started at PEOPLE’s Los Angeles Bureau as a writer and reporter in 2017 and interviewed the likes of Kobe Bryant, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Brady. He has a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University. He previously worked for Complex Magazine in New York City. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 3, 2021 04:35 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen. Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images Scottie Pippen isn’t holding back. The NBA Hall of Famer is taking aim at his former Chicago Bulls teammate, Michael Jordan, for his portrayal in the ESPN documentary, The Last Dance, which premiered last year. In an excerpt published in GQ from his upcoming memoir, Unguarded, out Nov. 9, Pippen claimed Jordan used the 10-part series to “glorify” himself. “Each episode was the same: Michael on a pedestal, his teammates secondary, smaller, the message no different from when he referred to us back then as his ‘supporting cast.’ They glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates,” Pippen wrote. “Michael deserved a large portion of the blame,” he added in the GQ excerpt. “The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn’t have been released otherwise. He was the leading man and the director.” (The series was co-produced by Jordan’s Jump 23 company.) Though Jordan referred to Pippen as his “best teammate of all time” in the series, Pippen said in the excerpt that Jordan “couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried.” Michael Jordan Reveals Last Text Messages with Kobe Bryant Ahead of Hall of Fame Ceremony Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty The 56-year-old, who won six NBA championships with Jordan during their time on the Bulls, also said in the GQ excerpt that he believed Jordan agreed to participate in the documentary for one reason: to show he was better than NBA player LeBron James, who he is often compared to by fans. A rep for Jordan did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. This isn’t the first time Pippen has spoken about his growing rift with 58-year-old Jordan, who is now the owner of the Charlotte Hornets. During an interview with The Guardian in December, Pippen said he spoke with Jordan about his reaction to The Last Dance and why he felt it wasn’t an “accurate” portrayal of the team that won six NBA titles. Michael Jordan’s 1984 Nike Air Ships Sell for Record-Breaking $1.5M in Sotheby’s Auction “I don’t think it was that accurate in terms of really defining what was accomplished in one of the greatest eras of basketball, but also by two of the greatest players – and one could even put that aside and say the greatest team of all time,” he told the outlet. “I didn’t think those things stood out in the documentary,” he continued. “I thought it was more about Michael trying to uplift himself and to be glorified. I think it also backfired to some degree in that people got a chance to see what kind of personality Michael had.” RELATED VIDEO: Scottie Pippen Announces Death of Son Antron, 33: ‘Rest Easy Until We Meet Again’ Jordan has not publicly responded to Pippen’s remarks but likely is not surprised by the criticism. Before The Last Dance premiered, Jordan said some of its footage might make him seem like a “horrible guy.” “When people see this footage,” he said in an interview with The Athletic at the time, “I’m not sure they’re going to be able to understand why I was so intense, why I did the things I did, why I acted the way I acted, and why I said the things I said.”