Toni Kukoc was a major part of the Chicago Bulls’ second three-peat, but his choice for his favorite teammate of that era may surprise you.
Kukoc, who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, revealed this week that his favorite NBA teammate was not Michael Jordan but Scottie Pippen.
“I always say Michael probably was the best player,” said Kukoc, per veteran basketball writer Sam Smith. “Scottie, to me, was as important as Michael. Because of that idea that Scottie was taking care of the whole team and was guarding people. He would bring the ball up and would find the right people and then for Michael it was, ‘OK, take us home.'”
Kukoc, now 52, was in Chicago for seven total seasons from 1993 to 2000. While five of those seasons overlapped with Pippen, only three-and-a-half of them overlapped with Jordan, who announced his first retirement in 1993.
Other than it not being Jordan, Kukoc’s choice may be surprising to many. After all, the lasting image of Kukoc and Pippen’s relationship came in 1994 when Pippen sulked on the bench after Phil Jackson drew up a last-second play for Kukoc instead of for him. It is obvious though that Kukoc has plenty of love for Pippen regardless, and even Jordan is still pretty special to him.
