Michael Jordan Privately Told Phil Jackson In 1992 That Scottie Pippen ‘Was The Best All-Around Player’ On The Bulls But He Never Said It To Pippen: ‘That Wouldn’t Be Like Him’

Michael Jordan privately told Phil Jackson before the 1992-93 season that Scottie Pippen “was the best all-around player” on the Chicago Bulls. 

However, Jordan never said it to Pippen, who wrote about this in his book, “Unguarded.”

“Something else happened on the way toward the United States capturing the gold medal in Barcelona,” Pippen wrote in his book. “I gained respect from a place where it had been absent for the longest time. From Michael Jordan. He concluded that I was the best all-around player on the team — and on occasion even outplayed him.

“He never told me that himself. That wouldn’t be like him. He told Phil at training in the fall of 1992, and I didn’t hear about it until many years later. Either way, that is high praise from someone with three MVPs, and to this day, it means a lot to me.”

The Bulls went 514-177 in the regular season when Jordan and Pippen played.

Chicago won six championships and three-peated twice while going undefeated in the NBA Finals during the Jordan-Pippen era.

The Bulls won rings in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998. 

Jordan, considered by many to be the best player in NBA history, averaged 31.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.8 blocks alongside Pippen.

Meanwhile, Pippen — one of the top two-way players ever — averaged 17.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.9 blocks next to Jordan. 

Pippen, who played for the Bulls, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers during his career, had two stints with the Bulls. He averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.9 blocks with Chicago. 

A Hall of Famer, Pippen made seven All-Star teams, seven All-NBA teams and 10 All-Defensive teams with the Bulls. His No. 33 jersey hangs in the rafters at the United Center. 

Jordan, like Pippen, also played for the Bulls twice. He averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.9 blocks with Chicago while winning five MVPs, six Finals MVPs, three steals titles, 10 scoring titles and one Defensive Player of the Year Award. 

Jordan, who played for the Bulls and Washington Wizards during his legendary career, made 12 All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams and nine All-Defensive teams with Chicago. His No. 23 jersey hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Many basketball fans tend to forget that Jordan never won a postseason series until the Bulls acquired Pippen from the Seattle SuperSonics in 1987, which is why Jordan considers Pippen his best teammate of all time. 

“I would never be able to find a tandem, another support system, another partner in the game of basketball like Scottie Pippen,” Jordan said in Episode 2 of The Last Dance docuseries. “He was a pleasure to play with. He helped me so much in the way that I approached the game, the way I played the game. Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen. Everybody says well I won all these championships, but I didn’t win without Scottie Pippen. And that’s why I consider him my best teammate of all time.”

Jordan and Pippen were named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2022. Unfortunately, the Bulls icons are no longer on speaking terms. 

Pippen is mad at Jordan because “The Last Dance” was a Jordan puff piece. 

Meanwhile, Jordan is happy with Pippen after Pippen said in his book that he didn’t give condolences to him after his father, James Jordan, was murdered in 1993.