Hall of Famer bashes Michael Jordan and Bill Russell

On the topic of the greatest of all time, Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen has strong feelings, which he shared on Friday's "Gimme the Hot Sauce Podcast" with former teammate Stacey King. 

After stating he believes the NBA is a "team game" and there can't be a greatest player, Pippen roasted the games of Michael Jordan and the late Bill Russell. 

"I've seen Michael Jordan play before I came to play for the Bulls — he's a horrible player," Pippen said. "He was horrible to play with. He was all one-on-one, he's shooting bad shots, and all of a sudden, we became a team and started winning, and everybody forgot who he was."

Pippen added that before Phil Jackson arrived in Chicago, scoring titles was at the top of Jordan's list, not winning. Pippen threw one more shot Jordan's way, saying he was "probably" the best individual scorer the game has seen before backtracking and giving the honor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

The former Bulls standout had similarly harsh words about Russell as a player, even if he admitted to never seeing the legend play. 

"I watched him play clips long enough to know if I like watching him play or not," Pippen said. "And I can tell you, I'm not a fan of his style of play."

It wasn't all doom and gloom from Pippen. He praised Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, calling him one of the game's greatest winners, and predicted he would ultimately become the best "statistical" player in the history of the NBA. 

Regardless of Pippen's or anyone else's opinion, the debate over who is the best ever will rage on. However, Pippen's views are a bit off base. Hopefully, the generation of hoops fans not old enough to have seen Jordan or Russell play won't take Pippen's comments to heart.