Scottie Pippen Knew Early On During Bulls Career He And Michael Jordan Wouldn’t Be Close Friends: ‘He Lived In A Different World From The Rest Of Us’

Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan are the best duo in NBA history. 

The Hall of Famers led the Chicago Bulls to six championships while going undefeated in the NBA Finals in the ’90s. 

Pippen and Jordan three-peated twice. 

However, according to Pippen, he and Jordan were never close friends during their playing careers and aren’t tight now either. 

“Michael and I aren’t close and never have been,” Pippen wrote in his book. “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. Many people might find that hard to believe given how smoothly we connected on the court. Away from the court, we are two very different people who have led two very different lives. I was from the country: Hamburg, Arkansas, population about 3,000; he was from the city: Wilmington, North Carolina.”

One of the top defenders in NBA history, Pippen knew early on during his Bulls career that he and Jordan wouldn’t be close off the court. 

“Michael and I got along well enough, though I could tell even then we were never going to be close,” Pippen wrote. “Maybe if we had played golf together, with the Wilson clubs he gave me my rookie year, it would have been different. I doubt it. He lived in a different world from the rest of us.”

The Bulls went an impressive 514-177 in the regular season when Jordan and Pippen played. 

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

“Once the season ended, whether we celebrated with champagne or not, the two of us rarely said a word to each other until training camp in October,” Pippen wrote in his book. “Michael had his circle of friends and I had mine. No one was to blame. You can’t force intimacy between two individuals. Either it’s there or it isn’t.”

Pippen and Jordan may not have been close during the glory days, but Jordan paid homage to Pippen in “The Last Dance” docuseries, which came out in 2020. 

“I would never be able to find a tandem, another support system, another partner in the game of basketball like Scottie Pippen,” Jordan said in Episode 2 of The Last Dance docuseries. “He was a pleasure to play with. He helped me so much in the way that I approached the game, the way I played the game. Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen. Everybody says well I won all these championships, but I didn’t win without Scottie Pippen. And that’s why I consider him my best teammate of all time.”