Michael Jordan’s documentary ‘The Last Dance’ was a massive hit among NBA fans, but not everybody was happy about it. One of them was his main man.
It happens to be his Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen, who was Jordan’s partner in crime during the legendary Bulls dynasty.
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 to show he was better than LeBron James, who he is often compared to by fans.
“Michael was determined to prove to the current generation of fans that he was larger-than-life during his day — and still larger than LeBron James, the player many consider his equal, if not superior,” Scottie said in an excerpt published by GQ.
“They glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates,” Pippen says in the book.
“Even in the second episode, which focused for a while on my difficult upbringing and unlikely path to the NBA, the narrative returned to MJ and his determination to win. I was nothing more than a prop. His ‘best teammate of all time,’ he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried.”
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Pippen also revealed why ‘Last Dance’ put so much emphasis on Jordan, saying, “Michael deserved a large portion of the blame. 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.”
This isn’t the first time Pippen has spoken about his growing rift with 58-year-old Jordan. 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.
“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.”
The Last Dance documentary was released in 2020, drawing widespread praise for the insight it provided into Michael Jordan’s life and career.
