Scottie Pippen Was Disgusted When Michael Jordan Kissed Bulls Coach Doug Collins On Cheek In Front Of Cameras: ‘I Thought It Was Disgusting For 2 Grown Men To Act Like That’

NBA icon Scottie Pippen was disgusted when Michael Jordan kissed Chicago Bulls coach Doug Collins on the cheek in front of cameras.

Pippen wasn’t a fan of how Collins “was in love” with Jordan. 

“My biggest complaint was how much Doug was in love with Michael,” Pippen wrote in his book. “He was more of a fan than a coach. Whenever a reporter wrote anything remotely negative about Michael, and granted, it wasn’t often, Doug grew defensive, as if someone had insulted his girlfriend.

“I’ll never forget the quarrel the two lovebirds staged after Michael walked out of practice, claiming that Doug had given the wrong score of a scrimmage. MJ insisted it was 4-4, while Doug said it was 4-3 in favor of Michael’s opponent. No one hated to lose more than Michael Jordan.

“They made up before long, Michael kissing Doug on the cheek in front of the cameras. I thought it was disgusting for two grown men to act like that.”

Collins coached the Bulls from 1986-87 to 1988-89. Chicago went 137-109 under Collins in the regular season and 13-17 in the playoffs. 

Jordan loved playing for Collins, but Pippen wasn’t Collins’ biggest fan. 

“He was way too animated,” Pippen wrote. “A coach in the NBA shouldn’t be running up and down the sidelines. In the locker room after the game, his shirt and jacket were drenched with sweat as if he, too, had been playing. None of the assistant coaches, and that included Phil Jackson, who was in his first season with the Bulls, challenged Doug. Which was unfortunate.”

The Bulls fired Collins and hired Jackson in 1989. Chicago became a dynasty under Jackson, winning six NBA championships and three-peating twice.

The Bulls went undefeated in the NBA Finals, with Jordan winning all six Finals MVPs. 

Jordan and Pippen are arguably the best duo in NBA history. However, the NBA legends are no longer on speaking terms. 

Pippen finished his NBA career with averages of 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers. He made seven All-Star teams, 10 All-Defensive teams and seven All-NBA teams. 

Pippen played for Collins, Jackson, Rudy Tomjanovich, Mike Dunleavy, Maurice Cheeks, Bill Cartwright, Pete Myers and Scott Skiles.

Pippen was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. Jordan presented him into the Hall of Fame.

It’s been sad to see Pippen and Jordan’s relationship sour since “The Last Dance” came out. 

“Michael and I aren’t close and never have been,” Pippen wrote. “Whenever I call or text him, he usually gets back to me in a timely fashion, but I don’t check in just to see how he’s doing. Nor does he do the same. Many people might find that hard to believe given how smoothly we connected on the court. 

“Away from the court, we are two very different people who have led two very different lives. I was from the country: Hamburg, Arkansas, population about 3,000; he was from the city: Wilmington, North Carolina.”