Scottie Pippen Ripped Charles Barkley After Barkley Said Pippen Owed Him An Apology For Requesting Trade From Rockets After One Season: ‘He Owes Me An Apology For Coming To Play With His Sorry Fat Butt’

Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley were teammates on the Houston Rockets during the 1998-99 NBA season. 

The Rockets went 31-19 in the regular season but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 1999 playoffs. 

In the offseason of 1999, Pippen requested a trade from the Rockets and was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. Barkley took a shot at Pippen for leaving Houston after one season, telling the media that Pippen owed him an apology. 

That’s when Pippen ripped Barkley during an interview.

“I wouldn’t give Charles Barkley an apology at gunpoint,” Pippen said. “He can never expect an apology from me. If anything, he owes me an apology for coming to play with his sorry fat butt.”

Pippen averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.7 blocks in 1998-99. Meanwhile, Barkley averaged 16.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.3 blocks. 

Pippen, who won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, wrote about his experience with Barkley on the Rockets in his book, “Unguarded.”

“Michael Jordan was correct. Charles wasn’t dedicated enough to win a championship,” Pippen wrote. “Not even close. Before the season got under way, Tim Grover, Michael’s trainer, came to town to work out with Charles and me. Charles didn’t last one week. Michael could get away with playing golf and a hectic lifestyle. Charles could not. Something had to give, and that was basketball.

“I would never have said anything against him if he hadn’t gone after me first. What gave him the right? When he did, it brought out the frustration I had kept bottled up for months. I didn’t have many years left in my career. I had just wasted one of them.”

Pippen played four seasons with the Blazers and 23 games with the Bulls in 2003-04 before retiring from the NBA.

Meanwhile, Barkley retired following the 1999-00 season. 

“Charles and I are cool now, Pippen wrote. “That was a long time ago. The two of us simply had different approaches to the game, and there was only one way to resolve them.”

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

Meanwhile, Barkley averaged 22.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks. He made 11 All-Star teams and 11 All-NBA teams. 

Both Pippen and Barkley are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.