Michael Jordan Once Revealed Why Scottie Pippen Refused to Enter the Court Against the Knicks: “He Wanted That Last Second Shot. He Thought He Earned That Respect.”

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen at Chicago Bulls became one of the best duos of all time. They helped the Bulls win two three-peats during the 90s. Despite having a good relationship on the court, they weren’t really friends off the court and their relationship has deteriorated lately.

Jordan and Pippen won their first three-peat with the Bulls and then Jordan decided to retire (for the first time). The Bulls then won no championships for two seasons. However, Jordan came back and won another three-peat before retiring for the third time.

During the 1993-94 season, Pippen was touted to fill the void created by Jordan. However, he famously refused to take the court in game 3 of the playoffs against the New York Knicks. Jordan, in an old interview, talked about that incident and put forward his views on Pippen.

Michael Jordan opens up on Scottie Pippen refusing to take the floor in the 1994 playoffs

An old interview of Michael Jordan has resurfaced on YouTube. The interview happened in 1994 and Jordan was about his views on the infamous incident of Pippen refusing to take the court.

“You wouldn’t miss that. I think that was a part of Scotty and his maturity in a sense of where he thought he was he wanted that last-second shot, he thought he earned that respect because at the time I was here he was throwing the ball there so when I left it’s like we should he should switch places he should take that shot,” Jordan said in the interview.

The Bulls had entered the 1993-94 season as three-time defending champions. They qualified for the playoffs again, but they couldn’t defend the championship for the fourth time.

The Bulls beat the Cavaliers in the first round of the 1993-94 playoffs in straight games. However, they lost to New York Knicks in the conference semifinals in seven games and crashed out of the playoffs. Scottie Pippen managed 22 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 5.6 APG and made it to the All-NBA First Team. But it wasn’t enough to defend their fourth straight title that season.

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