Published 18:22 IST, May 14th 2020
Scottie Pippen reportedly unhappy of being portrayed as frustrated in The Last Dance
As per recent reports, Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen is reportedly 'wounded and disappointed' by how he is portrayed in Michael Jordan's The Last Dance.
Scottie Pippen has been an integral part of Michael Jordan's journey with the Chicago Bulls. The Last Dance, which released on April 19, features Pippen's career with the Bulls while he was frustrated over his underpaid contract. The first episode focused on Pippen's contract and relationship with GM Jerry Krause, while the latest episodes highlighted Pippen's role with the Bulls when Jordan was playing baseball.
Also read | Michael Jordan The Last Dance: Was Scottie Pippen underpaid? Why did he sign a bad contract?
Scottie Pippen unhappy with The Last Dance
In the documentary, Pippen opens up about his frustrations over his pay. There were rumours that he wanted to trade and even delayed his surgery to sit out of the 1997-98 NBA season. The latest episodes also focused on Pippen without Jordan and how he 'abandoned' the team during the 1994 semi-finals game as Phil Jackson did not choose him to make the final shot.
In his interview, Pippen stated that he wished that never happened, but would not change anything if he had to do it again. While people have been discussing Pippen's quote, the Bulls point guard has been quiet about the documentary. However, reports say that he is 'wounded and disappointed' by how he has been portrayed in the documentary.
The second episode caused fans to speak for Pippen as he was paid much less than one of the best players in the NBA should be. Pippen had a 5-year, $18 million contract with the team and was unhappy with his pay. While Steve Kerr and Phil Jackson revealed that they understood Pippen's frustration, Michael Jordan stated that he thought Pippen's move to delay his surgery was selfish.
Jordan called Pippen his best teammate and someone he could not have won without. This week's episodes brought in some negative reviews for Pippen, as fans were disappointed that he would not change what happened during the 1994 semi-finals. However, Pippen maintained that he felt insulted by Jackson and does not think his feelings were wrong.
As per reports, Pippen is not happy with how frustrated he has been portrayed as a person. Reports also added that the documentary left out certain details from the 1994 game, especially about how Pippen and Toni Kukoc already were before the final shot as Pippen had messed up a previous offensive possession.
Updated 18:22 IST, May 14th 2020