Scottie Pippen Slams Isiah Thomas for Picking LeBron James over Michael Jordan

NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen was on ESPN's The Jump on Friday, and he was shown comments made by fellow Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, who said he'd pick LeBron James over Michael Jordan. Suffice to say, Pippen disagreed.

"I don't agree with nothing Zeke ever said," Pippen noted. "I don't even agree with nothing he ever did."

Pippen wasn't done there.

"You know what, I find that comment there just hating," he continued. "I've never seen this guy embrace or thank Michael Jordan for what he did for our game, done for our league. Done for all the kids out here in terms of basketball. Michael Jordan was the greatest to ever put on shoes and play in our game. No doubt about it."

You can see the full video below:

Pippen added that comparisons between the two are essentially impossible:

"I'm always asked to compare him to LeBron. I try to make the best of it. But really the comparison shouldn't ever be made. They both play two different positions. The way LeBron James plays? Michael Jordan was never asked to play that way. Because I took that away from him. I was the point forward. I was the facilitator. Michael Jordan was a scorer. He was a defender. He played the game as complete as LeBron James did when he needed to. But he was asked to score the basketball and that's what he was great at."

It's not surprising to hear Pippen defend his former teammate. He's done so before. But the vehemence in the defense and the contempt for Thomas' comments was a new wrinkle in a tired debate, especially considering Pippen said James had closed the gap on Jordan in December.

"He's right there. He probably will never catch him in terms of MVP, but in terms of statistics, LeBron is right there," Pippen noted, per Nick Schwartz of USA Today. "And when you look across the board—not just scoring—check his assists, check his rebounds…he's probably ahead of Jordan."

Make up your mind, Scottie.