NEWSLETTER
If Scottie Pippen’s new autobiography is anything like his latest interview, basketball fans are in for a wild ride. The Bulls legend recently sat down with GQ for an interview that started about his new bourbon and ended with some stark commentary on today’s NBA.
Reporter Tyler R. Tynes asked Pippen about the most recent Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets, and Pippen did not hold back any thoughts on superstar Kevin Durant.
And I used this example of what happened to Kevin Durant just the other day: this is the first time we’ve ever really seen Kevin Durant have to be the man and bring the team home … And this is no knock to KD, but they asked me, “Has he surpassed LeBron James?” And my answer was: LeBron James knows team basketball better than KD.
Pippen went on to basically say that Durant tried to beat Milwaukee by himself instead of sharing the wealth with the rest of his team. Turning back to LeBron James, Pippen also commented that the Lakers superstar would have found a way to pull off the Game 7 victory.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Durant quickly fired back online after seeing quotes posted from the interview on Twitter. The 2x Champion brought up the time Pippen decided to sit out the final 1.8 seconds in Game 3 of the 1994 playoff series against the New York Knicks. A moment that certainly feels noteworthy in a discussion about “team basketball.”
Didn’t the great Scottie pippen refuse to go in the game for the last second shot because he was in his feelings his coach drew up the play for a better shooter??
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 24, 2021
Look, Pippen got the short end the stick at times in Chicago, there is no doubt about it. His contract situation was messy, and I’m sure being referred to as second-fiddle to Michael Jordan year after year comes with its frustration. In fact, that is why I’m glad he finally decided to put his story down on paper. Pippen deserves to have his rise to stardom well-documented. With that said, I can’t deny that Durant has a point.
Pippen’s commentary on Durant’s lack of team basketball followed by his explanation in the GQ interview for sitting out that pivotal Game 3 came off a bit contradictory.
I don’t think it’s a mystery, you need to read between the fine lines. It was my first year playing without Michael Jordan, why wouldn’t I be taking that last shot? I been through all the ups and downs, the battles with the Pistons and now you gonna insult me and tell me to take it out? I thought it was a pretty low blow. I felt like it was an opportunity to give [Kukoc] a rise. It was a racial move to give him a rise. After all I’ve been through with this organization, now you’re gonna tell me to take the ball out and throw it to Toni Kukoc? You’re insulting me. That’s how I felt.
To be clear, no one can fault Pippen for feeling what he felt. We don’t know the full extent of what was going on behind the scenes. In fact, if anything, we know the situation behind the scenes was not great. The whole 90s Bulls locker room was a bit of a chaotic place. But, still, this whole rationale feels a bit odd considering Pippen’s Durant argument.
I have a feeling this might not be the end of this Pippen-Durant drama, so we will keep you updated. In the meantime, make sure to check out the entire interview to read some more eye-popping quotes from Pippen.
in a new interview at @GQMagazine: me & @ScottiePippen had a long, candid conversation about his relationship with Michael Jordan, his time with the Bulls and what some players of this generation still need to learn, all over a glass of his new bourbon https://t.co/5V4mp1CySn
— Tyler R. Tynes (@TylerRickyTynes) June 24, 2021
