Some may have assumed that Scottie Pippen’s one-sided feud (which partially stemmed from the content of ESPN’s The Last Dance) with former teammate Michael Jordan was far from over. That’s because the former had been relatively silent on the matter for a while. However, that all changed in May when Pippen provided more blunt thoughts on Jordan, going as far as to call him a “horrible” player. Much of the sports world seems to be somewhat flummoxed by the former Chicago Bull’s sentiments. In the aftermath, fans and former athletes alike are speaking out, and the latest to share a response is NBA icon Jerry West.
The man who serves as the logo for the National Basketball Association definitely stays plugged into what’s going on in the realm of b-ball. He also remains friends with a number of fellow veterans of the game, including Michael Jordan. During Jerry West’s appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, he recalled reuniting with Jordan and many others in Cleveland for the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Celebration in 2022. West spoke highly of Jordan as a person, and that’s what led him to discuss the comments made by Scottie Pippen:
[Michael] doesn’t change, he’s the same person all the time. And it really troubles me when, you know, Scottie Pippen – who I had a great feeling as a player – I see him with… For whatever reason, he’s [feuding] with Michael. Why he’s even bothering doing that, I don’t know. But I really like Scottie, he’s a hell of a player, really good. … It makes no sense to me. He oughta be thankful that he won that many games, that many championships, with a special team. [He] got a special player there with [him].
The 85-year-old Los Angeles Clippers executive’s thoughts mirror those that a number of people (including myself) have. It’s true that the Bulls player was great and is easily one of the greatest athletes to ever step foot on a basketball court. However, it’s hard to deny that Air Jordan set the tone for the team, which had other solid players as well. During his interview, the Lakers legend said that he couldn’t speak to whether “jealousy” or “envy” is factoring into the comments. He simply continued to express his curiosity about the situation:
I don’t know Scottie that well, I don’t. But he’s always been very pleasant, very nice, to me. And as I say, I admired him tremendously as a player. He got better every year. He wasn’t somebody that just fell off a cliff. He was a really good player. And whatever happens in relationships, when particularly if you look at a team, you would think that those guys like that would have the most special relationship in the world. I just haven’t understood that.
As alluded to Jerry West isn’t the only person who’s shared chimed in on the recent sentiments shared by Scottie Pippen. Former Chicago Bull Scott Williams reacted to the “horrible” comments with some diplomatic thoughts. Like West, Williams is confused by the jabs as well and was particularly disappointed, as he’d hoped to reunite with his former teammates sometime soon. Even before Pippen’s latest round of critiques, he was already chastised by Charles Barkley, who accused him of creating this situation to promote his memoir a while back. Even Pippen and Michael Jordan’s former teammate, Charles Oakley clapped back after the former claimed he was as great as Jordan.
Scottie Pippen apparently hasn’t spoken to Michael Jordan since this whole situation began. Paul George suggested to Jerry West that this whole thing might be solved with a phone call between the two. But the wise West opined that one of them may not accept said call. That’s a fair point, though one can still hold out hope that a reconciliation of sorts is still in the cards.
