Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen skip Bulls’ Ring of Honor ceremony

There were some notable absences from the Bulls’ celebrations of their 1990 dynasty teams. Namely, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen — who just happened to be the best two players on those teams.

Many will tell you Jordan is also the best player in NBA history. So when he doesn’t show at a Ring of Honor gala for the team that made him famous … well, it’s news.

Fittingly, Dennis Rodman said he would attend and did not show. But according to reports, Jordan and Pippen at least told the Bulls in advance that they wouldn’t be able to make it.

“I actually don’t know how much effort went into it,” Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

“Obviously, it would be better if everybody were here, but we knew going in that not everybody could be here. I believe Michael recorded something.”

Rumors suggest that Jordan and Pippen may not have shown as the result of a feud between them. 

Per the New York Post:

Pippen has taken multiple public shots at Jordan since the 2020 release of “The Last Dance” documentary that featured Jordan and other members of the Bulls chronicling the dynasty.

Pippen was displeased about how he was portrayed in the documentary.

“I’ve seen Michael Jordan play before I came to the Bulls; you guys seen him play,” the Hall of Fame forward said on the “Gimme the Hot Sauce” podcast in May 2023.

“[Jordan] was a horrible player. He was horrible to play with. He was all 1-on-1, he’s shooting bad shots. And all of a sudden, we become a team and we start winning, everybody forgot who he was.”

Pippen was fired from his role at a Bulls ambassador in 2020 and, according to the report, efforts to repair the relationship have failed.

Jordan recently sold his ownership stake in the Hornets and is believed to not e involved in basketball these days. Pippen, who once worked as an analyst for ESPN, is also not involved with a network or team.