Scottie Pippen praises LeBron James, says Michael Jordan was a 'horrible player' before he joined Bulls

Nick Brinkerhoff

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Scottie Pippen praises LeBron James, says Michael Jordan was a 'horrible player' before he joined Bulls image

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen battled together on the NBA hardwood for 10 seasons. Now, they no longer wear the same jersey, and they don't seem to hide it. 

Pippen was appearing on Stacey King's "Gimme the Hot Sauce" podcast recently when the former Bull asked Pippen to rank where he would put LeBron James among the league's greatest players. 

The six-time champion and NBA Hall of Fame inductee responded by saying, "There is not a greatest player," adding that basketball is a team game.  

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Pippen followed up by saying that he'd put himself in that category, if asked — before declaring that when James walks away from basketball, he'll be the best "statistical player" to ever play the game. He used that as an opportunity to renew his off-the-court rivalry with Jordan. 

"I (saw) Michael Jordan play before I came to play with the Bulls," Pippen said. "You guys (saw) him play. He was a horrible player. He was horrible to play with. He was all one-on-one, he was shooting bad shots. And all of a sudden, we become a team and we start winning and everybody forgot who he was.” 

Pippen has been notoriously outspoken about his disgust over the spotlight Jordan received, even making mention of it in his memoir, "Unguarded." 

When did Scottie Pippen join the Bulls?

Pippen joined the Bulls in 1987 after Chicago selected him fifth overall in that year's draft. He went on to play 12 seasons in the Windy City, including the 1993-94 season after Jordan retired to play minor league baseball. 

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Pippen averaged 22 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists while leading the Bulls to a 55-27 record that year. Chicago lost to the Knicks in seven games in the second round.

Reaction to Pippen's comments about Jordan to King sparked an NBA Twitter frenzy Friday night. 

Nick Brinkerhoff

Nick Brinkerhoff Photo

Nick Brinkerhoff is a content producer at The Sporting News covering the NFL, NBA and other sports. A proud New Jerseyan, Nick is also a graduate of Rutgers University. He is always in the mood for a good joke, the day’s best bets, or a debate about the mediocrity of the New York sports scene.