Scottie Pippen regrets not giving condolences to Michael Jordan after he lost his dad: 'To this day, he and I haven't spoken about his father's death'

Shortly after Scottie Pippen helped Michael Jordan win the Chicago Bulls their third straight championship in 1993, Mike's father, James, was murdered in North Carolina.

In the days following the incident, Pippen wanted to reach out and offer his condolences to his teammate. Scottie's father, Preston, passed away in 1990, and Pip thought that perhaps sharing his own experience could help MJ overcome his grief.

"Having lost my own dad three years before, I might have been able to offer Michael some comfort," wrote Pippen in his book "Unguarded," via Hoopswire. "To this day, he and I haven't spoken about his father's death."

Pippen felt he was being insensitive

Scottie and Mike weren't just teammates; they were the best basketball duo in the NBA during that time. However, Pippen did not have Jordan's phone number. So when he learned about James' death, he contacted Bulls PR man Tim Hallam to ask about Michael.

When Hallam said the organization hadn't contacted Jordan, Pippen did not look for other means to get ahold of MJ. Instead, he thought he'd just say his condolences when they meet at the start of training camp. Looking back, the legendary forward regrets not doing things differently.

"I wish I could blame my youth for being so incredibly insensitive," added Scottie. "I can't. There is no excuse. Why didn't I make a stronger effort? Perhaps I didn't want to deal with Michael's grief. Just as I didn't deal with my own grief when my dad passed away three years earlier. I've always been good at running away from that kind of pain."

Traumatized by childhood tragedies

Scottie was one of 12 children of Preston and Ethel Pippen. His father worked at a paper mill until suffering a stroke that left the right side of his body paralyzed. Unable to walk, Preston was forced to quit his job. In The Last Dance documentary, the Bulls legend revealed that his older brother, Ronnie, was also left paralyzed after a P.E. class accident.

Seeing both his father and older brother live the rest of their lives confined in a wheelchair was tough for the family. Meanwhile, young Scottie used basketball as his outlet to forget about his family's tragedy. 

Unfortunately, after a long illness, Pippen's father died in 1990. As the youngest child, Scottie was very close to Preston. He even named his second son after his father. Likewise, Michael was close to James, who was there for all of MJ's big moments. Naturally, Jordan was devastated when his dad was murdered. Scottie not being there to help him through that difficult time only added to "His Airness'" suffering.