Michael Jordan’s praise for Scottie Pippen came with a catch: ‘He never told me’

Scottie Pippen spent years helping Michael Jordan win championships. According to Pippen, Jordan also delivered a compliment that meant a great deal to him.

Pippen just wasn’t around to hear it.

In his memoir, Unguarded, Pippen recalled Jordan’s assessment of his game following their summer together with the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.

“Something else happened on the way toward the United States capturing the gold medal in Barcelona,” Pippen wrote. “I gained respect from a place where it had been absent for the longest time. From Michael Jordan.”

That respect, Pippen explained, went beyond acknowledging that he was a useful running mate.

“He came to the conclusion that I was the best all-around player on the team — and on occasion even outplayed him,” Pippen wrote. “He never told me that himself. That wouldn’t be like him. He told Phil at training in the fall of 1992, and I didn’t hear about it until many years later.”

By then, Jordan had already won three regular-season MVP awards. The Bulls had won consecutive championships and were headed toward a third. So this wasn’t a compliment Pippen took lightly.

“Either way, that is high praise from someone with three MVPs, and to this day, it means a lot to me,” he wrote.

Jordan was the Bulls’ leading scorer and biggest star. But Pippen’s ability to defend, handle the ball, create for teammates and score made him considerably more than someone who benefited from playing alongside No. 23.

Their six championships together offered plenty of evidence. Their relationship away from basketball, though, wasn’t necessarily what fans imagined.

“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.”

That was Pippen’s description when he wrote the book, not a current update on their relationship. Still, it helps explain how two players could understand each other so well on the court without sharing much elsewhere.

Pippen clearly valued Jordan’s opinion. In this instance, he would have appreciated hearing it directly.

Related: Scottie Pippen ripped Michael Jordan over $10 million payday from ‘The Last Dance’