Scottie Pippen says Michael Jordan was ‘condescending’ in documentary
Millions of viewers were captivated by “The Last Dance” documentary when sports came to a halt during the pandemic. But Scottie Pippen has made it abundantly clear that he was not happy with the documentary series.
Pippen has spoken openly about that, and he vented about it even more in his upcoming memoir.
GQ published an excerpt on Tuesday from Pippen’s upcoming book, “Unguarded.” In the book, Pippen goes into detail about why he was upset with “The Last Dance.”
Pippen said the series “glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates.” Pippen blamed Jordan for that issue, noting that M.J. had editorial control over the final product.
Pippen said he was initially excited about the documentary. His opinion changed when ESPN sent him the episodes to preview before they were aired publicly. He says he knew from the scenes glorifying Jordan in the opening episode that the series would be about furthering Jordan’s legacy and nothing more.
“Even in the second episode, which focused for a while on my difficult upbringing and unlikely path to the NBA, the narrative returned to MJ and his determination to win,” Pippen wrote. “I was nothing more than a prop. His ‘best teammate of all time,’ he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried.”
Pippen believes Jordan’s goal with “The Last Dance” was to show the younger generation of fans that M.J. is superior to LeBron James. He’s not the only one who felt that way, though Pippen’s feelings are obviously a lot stronger and more personal.
You can understand why Pippen felt the main goal of “The Last Dance” was to put Jordan “on a pedestal,” as he described it. That said, his opinion is more than a little biased. There are several reasons Pippen was furious over his portrayal in the documentary. He also said in a bizarre interview a few months back that he believes Phil Jackson is a racist. Jordan isn’t the only member of the Bulls dynasty with whom Pippen has an issue.
