Scottie Pippen: Michael Jordan Wouldn't Be Michael Jordan Without Bulls Teammates

Scottie Pippen may not have the fondest memories of Michael Jordan during their 10 seasons together as teammates with the Chicago Bulls. 

In an excerpt from his memoir Unguarded serialized in GQ, Pippen recalls being "upset" with Jordan over how he and the other members of the Bulls were portrayed in The Last Dance documentary series:

"How dare Michael treat us that way after everything we did for him and his precious brand. Michael Jordan would never have been Michael Jordan without me, Horace Grant, Toni Kukoc, John Paxson, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, Bill Cartwright, Ron Harper, B.J. Armstrong, Luc Longley, Will Perdue, and Bill Wennington. I apologize to anyone I've left out. "

"I'm not suggesting Michael wouldn't have been a superstar wherever he ended up. He was that spectacular. Just that he relied on the success we attained as a team—six titles in eight years—to propel him to a level of fame throughout the world no other athlete, except for Muhammad Ali, has reached in modern times."

One key source of Pippen's discontent stems from Jordan having full creative control over the project. 

Specifically, the way the second episode positions him as "nothing more than a prop" to tell the story that Jordan wanted to tell. 

"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," Pippen wrote. "His 'best teammate of all time,' he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried."

Pippen did say he received a text from Jordan asking to speak with him because he was "getting word that you're upset with me." Pippen did respond, saying "let's talk tomorrow." It's not specified in the excerpt if that conversation ever took place. 

The Last Dance was centered around the 1997-98 Bulls season, the final year with Jordan, Pippen and head coach Phil Jackson all together. It also went back to examine the rise of the franchise from the time Jordan was drafted in 1984. 

Despite his differences with Jordan, Pippen remains very proud of what they accomplished in Chicago. He called his time with the Bulls "the most rewarding of my career."

Pippen was drafted No. 5 overall in 1987 by the Seattle SuperSonics, who traded his draft rights to the Bulls. The Arkansas native spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the organization. 

During his time in Chicago, Pippen was a 10-time All-Defensive team selection and seven-time All-Star. He won six NBA titles in an eight-season span from 1990-98. 

The Bulls retired Pippen's No. 33 in 2005. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.