Michael Jordan and his iconic ‘Jordan’ brand under Nike have played a huge role in making the former NBA champion a billionaire. Ever since his debut in the league, Nike judged his potential correctly and quickly signed him. Thanks to his success, he is widely considered the greatest Nike athlete ever.

Interestingly enough, Jordan’s former teammate Scottie Pippen downplayed MJ’s successes recently. During an interview, he talked about Nike and his various shoes under the brand.

Pippen talked about releasing multiple statement-level shoes in one season. Moreover, he also talked about how he felt like he owned the Nike brand instead of Jordan.

Scottie Pippen makes a huge claim downplaying Michael Jordan

Irrespective of whether someone is a basketball fan or not, the name Michael Jordan and the ‘Jordan’ brand is recognized by millions around the world. Jordan has tasted massive success with the brand and is widely lauded for changing the sneaker game.

Thanks to his successes in his various business ventures, Jordan has a net worth of $1.7 billion. Moreover, according to reports, he has earned a whopping $1.1 billion from Nike with his brand having a valuation of $3.1 billion. (Source: Forbes)

Despite his successes, fellow Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen feels he owned the brand back in the day. During an interview, he listed some of his achievements such as launching multiple statement shoes.

Pippen said, “It’s not a good feeling I tell you because I felt like I am the athlete that sort of owned that brand. That wasn’t the way Nike perceived it but they considered them statement-level shoes.”

He added, “I had put five statement-level shoes per season. So, I thought those shoes were statement level but I also felt like they were my signature because people identified those shoes.”

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Although the two won multiple NBA titles together, they do not have a good relationship. This downplaying of Jordan’s success with Nike is an example of their strained relationship.

Pippen accused Jordan in his book which broke their relationship

Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen released his memoir, ‘Unguarded’, last year. In the book, he accused Jordan of being a bad teammate amongst various other things.

One of the main issues brought forth by Pippen was that MJ took away all the spotlight. Moreover, he also asserted that Jordan would never have achieved what he has without Pippen.

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What is your favorite moment of the Pippen and Jordan duo? Let us know in the comments down below.