From good cleaning
Although the ESPN documentary The Last Dance mainly revolves around the life and career of adults Michael Jordan, the series also highlights other key players from the Chicago Bulls basketball dynasty, including the legendary striker Scottie Pippen.
It is clear from The Last Dance whom Michael considers Scottie “his best teammate of all time” not to mention vital for the Bulls’ success in the 90s. That said, when the 10-part series hit ESPN last spring, it was reported that Scottie was “beyond the bruise” of how the show turned out.
According to what ESPN 1000’s David Kaplan Said in May, Scottie was “so angry at Michael and how he was portrayed, called selfish, called so, called so, that he is furious to have participated and didn’t realize what he was doing”.
In addition, ESPN Jackie MacMullan He reported that those close to Scottie said he felt “hurt and disappointed”.
Because Scottie Pippen was mad at Michael Jordan and The Last Dance?
Like those who have seen The Last Dance I remember that in episode two, Michael calls Scottie “selfish” for delaying foot surgery and losing the first half of the 1997-98 basketball season. “Scottie was wrong in that scenario,” Michael said.
At the time, Scottie was frustrated with managing Bulls for his $ 18 million contract (which made him the 122nd highest paid player in the league) and embittered by the rumors that the team was considering swapping it. Although Michael seemed to have strong feelings about Scottie’s decision, then coach Phil Jackson and former bull guard Steve Kerr didn’t seem to have a big problem with it.
But that wasn’t the only problem reported by Scottie with the series. Reportedly, Scottie did not like the way he was portrayed in the 1998 NBA final matchup. “He felt until the last minutes of Game 6 against Jazz, it was just bash Scottie, bash Scottie, bash Scottie,” he said the ESPN 1000 radio host.
In addition, the documentary takes some time to bring out another unflattering story about Scottie. In the closing seconds of Game 3 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Scottie refused to return because he was frustrated that Toni Kukoc the final blow was given instead of him. Scottie later apologized to his teammates (although he also made it clear that “he probably won’t change it” if he had a chance to do so). Michael claimed that his teammate’s decision would “always” come back to haunt him.
At this point, it is not clear whether the docuserie caused a serious rift between the two players. Weeks after the final Last dance episode broadcast on ESPN, Scottie posted a photo of himself and Michael from MJ’s “flu game” in the 1997 NBA Finals.
While some analysts think Scottie is trying to obscure Michael with the post, it may just be a sign that the two have been reconciled ever since.
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