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For years, NBA legends Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley were not on the best of terms. That was even the case when they were teammates on the Houston Rockets.
During the strike-shortened 1999 season, Pippen and Barkley were on the same team. Clyde Drexler had retired, and Pippen was brought in to fill that void.
Meanwhile, Hakeem Olajuwon was still the focal point of the franchise.
The hope was for Pippen and Barkley to help the Rockets regain their prominence. However, neither of them gelled, and it only lasted for one year.
Now, a former teammate, Cuttino Mobley, is providing insight on the nature of their relationship, per All The Smoke Podcast.
On the latest episode, Mobley recalls receiving mentorship from Pippen on how to be a pro, whereas Barkley was sometimes absent from practice.
“Scottie was at practice at 10, Scottie was there like seven lifting. I’m in there with him just learning how to be a pro,” he said. “What I should eat before, what I should eat afterwards. Getting shots up after practice. He taught me how to do those things. Because sometimes Dream (Olajuwon) was like on a fast, Charles may not even come to practice, and it bumped heads with Scottie because he didn’t come from that. He was looking at Charles like, dog what are you doing? Like we’re total opposites. Kind of like Kobe and Shaq at the time.”
When host Matt Barnes asked, “Could you feel the beef between them two?” Mobley responded:
“Yeah especially when it came to games we could win with just them. Forget all us young guys. All the young guys, just be out there. We’ll win the game, but I need you and your energy to help me do this.”
The tempestuous time between Pippen and Barkley on the Rockets
The Rockets finished 1999 31-19 and were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
Eventually, the beef found its way into the media with Pippen and Barkley taking jabs at one another. Pippen expressed frustration about how the offense was designed for Barkley and Olajuwon.
Ultimately, Pippen left Houston for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000. In a 1999 ESPN article, Pippen did say some nice things about Barkley.
“I feel bad for him,” Pippen said before his Portland Trail Blazers played Minnesota. “I didn't want to see him end his career like that. I wanted him to go out fighting.”
However, Pippen doesn't regret calling Barkley “fat” at the height of their feud.
