Scottie Pippen Told Michael Jordan He Wasn’t Happy With ‘The Last Dance’ Documentary: ‘I Don’t Know What You Are Selling, Was I Great Or Was I A Villain?’

NBA legend Scottie Pippen told Michael Jordan he wasn’t happy with “The Last Dance” documentary. 

“The Last Dance” was a ten-part docuseries about the Chicago Bulls‘ final championship season in 1997-98.

However, the documentary was a Jordan puff piece and Pippen wasn’t happy.

“Michael and I caught up two days after he sent the text,” Pippen wrote in his book. “I didn’t hold back: ‘I was disappointed in the documentary. It didn’t shine a good light on me. You were promoting The Last Dance but switched it to the Michael Jordan documentary. I don’t know what you are selling. Was I great or was I a villain?'”

Jordan and Pippen won six NBA championships and three-peated twice while going undefeated in the NBA Finals during the 90’s. They are universally recognized as the greatest duo in NBA history. 

Jordan averaged 31.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.8 blocks alongside Pippen, while Pippen averaged 17.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.9 blocks next to Jordan. 

“On and on it went, the spotlight shining on number 23,” Pippen wrote. “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 teammates of all time,’ he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried.

“On second thought, I could believe my eyes. I spent a lot of time around the man. I knew what made him tick. How naive I was to expect anything else. 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.’ From one season to the next, we received little or no credit whenever we won but the bulk of the criticism when we lost. Michael could shoot 6 for 24 from the field, commit 5 turnovers, and he was still, in the minds of the adoring press and public, the Errorless Jordan.”

The Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz (twice) for their six NBA championships. Jordan won all six Finals MVPs. 

“To make things worse, Michael received $10 million for his role in the doc while my teammates and I didn’t earn a dime, another reminder of the pecking order from the old days,” Pippen wrote. “For an entire season, we allowed cameras into the sanctity of our locker rooms, our practices, our hotels, our huddles, our lives.”

Pippen and Jordan are no longer on speaking terms.