Scottie Pippen isn't the biggest fan of “The Last Dance”. That's not really a secret at this point. Michael Jordan's Netflix masterpiece, which focused on the Chicago Bulls' 1997-98 season, largely shined the spotlight on his larger-than-life phenomenon in the 80s and 90s as he rose to prominence in the NBA and the global stage.
But his Bulls co-star wasn't exactly enthused with his own portrayal in the miniseries. There have been minor rumblings on his frustrations about it in the months that followed The Last Dance's release. But Scottie Pippen was finally able to unload all his frustrations in his upcoming book entitled Unguarded.
Pip alleges that Michael Jordan deserved more “blame” for some of the strife and eventual breaking up of the Bulls than was portrayed but was cut off the editing room floor due to the fact that he had full control of its release.
Excerpts via GQ:
“The final two episodes aired on May 17,” Pippen said in his book. “Similar to the previous eight, they glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates. Michael deserved a large portion of the blame. The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn’t have been released otherwise. He was the leading man and the director. “
While Scottie Pippen got an entire episode dedicated to his backstory, the Bulls Hall of Famer claims that even his own episode ended up focusing on MJ.
“Even in the second episode, which focused for a while on my difficult upbringing and unlikely path to the NBA, the narrative returned to MJ and his determination to win. I was nothing more than a prop. His “best teammate of all time,” he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried. “
Scottie Pippen's memoir entitled Unguarded releases on November 9th.
Follow Us
Subscribe