NBA Throwback: When A Raging Scottie Pippen Refused To Go Back On The Court In A Crucial Playoff Match

It was 1994. The Chicago Bulls were up against the New York Knicks. It was a crucial playoff game. Towards the dying seconds of the match, Chicago takes a timeout and unthinkably, Scottie Pippen decides to sit out of the game.

The Knicks and the Bulls had developed a fierce rivalry among them. In 1994 they met in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The Knicks were brilliant in the first two games and led 2-0 coming into the third and a very crucial game. 

The Bulls needed to win the game to hold some form of momentum against their rivals. In a tightly contested game, both teams stand 102-102 with just 1.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. What happened next will go down as one of the most infamous moments in Scottie Pippen’s career.

Scottie Pippen decides to sit out of the game with his team trailing by a point

Michael Jordan announced his retirement before the 1994 season began. It was Pippen who was the best player and the leader of the team now. The Bulls entered the playoffs as the No.3 seed in the conference. 

They faced the Knicks for the fourth year in a row after breezing past the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After leading for most parts of the game they managed to squander it recklessly. Holding a 20-point lead coming into the fourth quarter, the Bulls just stopped scoring. The Knicks kept coming behind them and narrowed the lead. 

At one point the score was tied at 102-102 thanks to a couple of last gasp shots from Patrick Ewing. The Bulls then called a timeout with 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock. 

Head coach Phil Jackson then devised a plan which would require Pippen to inbound the ball to Toni Kukoc who would make the shot. Upon hearing this, Pippen reportedly swore and said, “I’m tired of this.” And then he sat down on the end of the bench and refused to get up.

“Pip, come on, get up,” one of his teammates said. “What are you doing?”

Pippen refused to get up. This forced Jackson to call in a second time-out and brought in Pete Myers in place of Pippen. Myers fed the ball to Kukoc who made no mistake in netting the ball into the basket. The shot beat the buzzer and the Bulls won by a point.

Pippen’s frustration for being asked out of play by his coach ended in a benefit for the team. He later admitted that Jackson had made the right call.