25 Years Before Scottie Pippen Abandoned His Friendship, Michael Jordan Proclaimed His ?Little Brother? as an Integral Part of His Legacy

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen have not seen eye-to-eye for years. Following Pippen’s displeasure with ‘The Last Dance’?documentary series and the release of Pippen’s own book, ‘Unguarded’, their relationship is in shambles. Along with this, the revelation of the relationship between his ex-wife Larsa Pippen and Michael Jordan’s son Marcus Jordan, the two former Chicago Bulls legends find themselves in a tough position.

But things were not always the same, as a resurfaced video from 1996 shows the love and admiration Jordan had for Pippen when they were sharing the court in the NBA.

Michael Jordan praised Scottie Pippen after winning the 1996 championship

The Chicago Bulls faced the Seattle Supersonics in the 1996 NBA finals. This was Jordan’s first time in the finals after his return from retirement. The series wasn’t a cakewalk, as Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton were tough opponents.

But the Bulls won the series in 6 games. During the season in 1996, there were talks about trading Scottie Pippen for Shawn Kemp to team him up with Michael Jordan. But fortunately, no deal was agreed upon. Soon after winning the championship, Jordan let everyone know that if Scottie Pippen was not part of the team, he would have left again.

He mentioned that Pippen was part of the reason he came back. He kept praising Pippen and said that he didn’t know if the team could’ve gotten there without Pippen. Jordan said, “A lot of people doubted Scottie Pippen for a long period of time, and you know, he?s become like a little brother to me“.

Jordan then went on to talk about the growth that Scottie Pippen has had over the years in Chicago and surprisingly said, “I am very blessed to be a part of his team“.

Scottie Pippen’s impact on the 1996 finals

Pippen was one of a kind when it came to defense. He was a pure defender who was able to guard positions one through five. He was both agile and strong at the same time to guard anyone in the league. His defense was also visible in the 1996 NBA Finals. He was given the primary assignment to stop Gary Payton. Payton was considered as the main troublemaker for the Bulls in the finals.

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Gary Payton averaged impressively during the season as well as throughout that playoff run before facing the Bulls in 1996. But he was brought down by the Bulls as he was in heavy trouble scoring on Pippen.

Payton only scored 18 PPG throughout the series and shot only 44% from the field. Such was Scottie Pippen’s impact on the team. The Bulls closed out the series in 6 games. Thus began the start of their second three-peat.

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