Michael Jordan isn’t the only NBA legend who Scottie Pippen has bothered with his increasingly hostile comments.
Hall of Famer Jerry West said he’s confused and upset by Pippen’s comments about Jordan — Pippen most recently called the all-time great a “horrible” player before he joined him in Chicago.
“[Michael] doesn’t change, he’s the same person all the time. And it really troubles me when, you know, Scottie Pippen — who I had a great feeling as a player — I see him with. … For whatever reason, he’s [feuding] with Michael,” West said on “Podcast P with Paul George.”
“Why he’s even bothering doing that, I don’t know. But I really like Scottie, he’s a hell of a player, really good. … It makes no sense to me. He oughta be thankful that he won that many games, that many championships, with a special team. [He] got a special player there with [him].”
Jordan and Pippen won six championships together with the Chicago Bulls, a legendary run that catapulted both players into the basketball pantheon and the Hall of Fame.
The two NBA legends had historic synergy on the court, but the cracks in their relationship began appearing once both players retired.
Pippen’s feud with Jordan seemingly began with “The Last Dance” documentary, which infuriated Pippen because he felt it portrayed him in an entirely wrong light.
The public crusade against Jordan continued when Pippen released his memoir, “Unguarded,” in which he wrote that Jordan would “never have become” a superstar without him.
Knicks legend Charles Oakley said in January 2022 that the former Bulls co-stars’ relationship was “over.”
The former teammates are also embroiled in off-court drama: Larsa Pippen, Pippen’s ex-wife, is currently dating Jordan’s son, Marcus Jordan.
West, a 14-time All-Star and a current executive with the Los Angeles Clippers, still can’t quite wrap his head around what’s gone wrong between the two men.
“If you look at a team, you would think that those guys like that would have the most special relationship in the world,” West said. “I just haven’t understood that.”
