Dennis Rodman And Scottie Pippen Didn’t Talk For The First 6 Months They Were Teammates On Bulls: ‘Scottie Didn’t Talk To Me’

NBA legends Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen didn’t talk for the first six months they were teammates on the Chicago Bulls

Pippen didn’t like Rodman, who intentionally tried to hurt him in Game 4 of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals between the Bulls and Detroit Pistons. 

Phil Jackson asked Pippen and Michael Jordan how they felt about the Bulls acquiring Rodman from the San Antonio Spurs in 1995.

Pippen wrote about the meeting in his book, “Unguarded.”

“So, in the summer of 1995, when Phil asked how I felt about the possibility of the Bulls acquiring Dennis, who was then 34, I didn’t object,” Pippen wrote. “Nor did Michael. Not that there weren’t some concerns. Of course there were. Michael’s reaction was something to the effect of ‘Dennis Rodman? Really?’ Yes, really, and it made a lot of sense.”

Pippen, Jordan and Rodman were teammates on the Bulls for three seasons. Chicago won three straight championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. 

“He studied the tendencies of his opponents and teammates, planting himself in perfect rebounding position even before guys got into a shooting mode,” Pippen wrote. “Dennis possessed an unbelievable basketball IQ. He could have a tremendous impact on a game without scoring a single point. How many players can you say that about?”

One of the best defenders and rebounders in NBA history, Rodman appeared in 199 games with the Bulls. He averaged 5.2 points and 15.3 rebounds and won three consecutive rebounding titles. 

During the Bulls’ championship celebration in 1996, Rodman publicly apologized to Pippen for shoving him in 1991. 

“Several days later, at the celebration at Grant Park, Dennis said something that blew me away: ‘I’d really like to thank one individual on this team that has accepted me and heSet featured image didn’t have to. And I apologize for what happened five years ago.’ He was referring to the shove during Game 4 of the 1991 playoffs,” Pippen wrote. “Apology accepted.”

Rodman finished his career with averages of 7.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks. He won five championships, seven rebounding titles and two Defensive Players of the Year Awards and made two All-Star teams, eight All-Defensive teams and two All-NBA teams. 

Meanwhile, Pippen averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks during his Hall of Fame playing career. He won six championships and made seven All-Star teams, 10 All-Defensive teams and seven All-NBA teams. 

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