Scottie Pippen may have been a great player, but he was a terrible trash talker as per former NBA player Olden Polynice.
The Chicago Bulls from the 1990s is considered as one of the greatest teams to ever play in the NBA. The Bulls won six NBA Championships in a decade by completing two separate three-peats. Michael Jordan was undoubtedly the leader and the best player on the team by far, but he couldn't have done that without the help of others.
The biggest advantage that MJ had was having Scottie Pippen as his partner in crime. Before Pippen rose to stardom, MJ and the Bulls were failing to have good results in the playoffs.
But Pippen was the perfect Robin to Jordan's Batman, and it helped the Bulls dominate their opponents. Speaking of that domination, apart from playing elite-level basketball, Mike also had a knack for trash-talking.
So much so that Gary Payton believes MJ deserves a spot in the All-90s trash talk team.
Scottie Pippen Was Never A Good Trash Talker
Considering the fact that MJ and Pippen played for so many years together, one would think that the latter also picked some of the trash-talking habits of the former.
However, as per the former NBA player Olden Polynice, Pippen was a pretty bad trash talker. He revealed that in an interview with NBA analyst Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson.
"No. Not at all. And it’s funny, not that he’s retired, he’s become a trash-talker. … But it’s like, he would like, come at you. I remember we had an issue one time when he was with Portland, and it’s funny to me cause I look at it like this: I know the guys in the league who are gonna talk trash. I know the guys that are gonna fight. I know the guys that are punks. We all knew that; we all knew about each other. And, you know, you’d test guys. The people that didn’t do a lot of talking, they’re the ones that I kinda worried about cause they not trying to talk. They just ready to fight.
But Scottie, you know, he tried to trash-talk, but it wasn’t coming out the same, you know what I’m saying. It just wasn’t quite right. And, so, I’m like, ‘Dude, just let it go, man. You’re not Mike, you’re not Bird, you’re not Reggie Miller. That’s not your game. That’s not your thing.’ … But I see now, he’s all about it now."
MJ and Scottie have been retired from the NBA for a long time, but when ESPN's The Last Dance was released it ruffled some feathers.
Pippen openly admitted that Michael Jordan wrongfully portrayed him and many other teammates in the documentary. The two former stars may never be able to rekindle their friendships, but fans will always hope that they do it.
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