Scottie Pippen broke down exactly why Michael Jordan and Horace Grant fell out on the Chicago Bulls

Pippen saw that Jordan and Grant were not close

As players who were drafted in 1987, Pippen and Grant became close. They were rookies together, so it was fair to see them sticking together. As they matured and developed into their roles for the Bulls, Jordan and Pippen became the team’s biggest stars.

Grant was a rock-solid starter, but he was not a star on the same level as his teammates. As time went by, Jordan and Pippen became close as well. Unfortunately, Jordan did not like that Pippen and Grant were so close, considering Jordan was at odds with his power forward.

It was a clear dilemma for Pippen since he valued Grant’s friendship. Unfortunately, Grant did not like what was happening, as it left Pippen in a weird spot. That eventually led to him leaving the team as a free agent in 1994. It was a sour relationship, just like Pippen and Jordan had with Phil Jackson after their success.

“Michael had a little problem with that. It was more of a problem with him and Horace. Horace and Michael didn’t really see eye to eye. Horace was a twin, so he believed in everything being equal,” Pippen said in a 2020 interview.

“There were days when Michael would play 45 minutes, maybe even 48 minutes, and Horace didn’t understand.”

“The next day, Phil would tell Michael, ‘You don’t have to practice.’ So Horace felt like he was getting special treatment. So that kind of put a space in our relationship.”

Grant got payback in the 1995 Playoffs

While Jordan won three more titles alongside Pippen from 1996 to 1998, Grant did get a win over him in 1995. That was when Jordan returned to the NBA, which meant he did not play the entire season with the Bulls. He might have been a bit rusty, but Jordan still could have led the team to victory.

Grant was a key player for the Orlando Magic alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. It was a fantastic achievement for such a young team, as O’Neal and Hardaway were standouts.

During that series, Grant was also quite good, averaging a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds across the six games. Jordan was excellent with his 31 points per game in that series, but Grant got the last laugh in that series.

Unfortunately, Grant and the Magic lost to the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals. O’Neal still regrets that loss, considering they could have capitalized on beating the Bulls.