Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen.Photo: Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty
The fallout between Michael Jordan andScottie Pippenhas done long-lasting and permanent damage to the men’s relationship, NBA legend Charles Oakley believes.
In a recent interview with Bill Simmons, Oakley — who played for the Chicago Bulls in the 1980s — said Jordan and Pippen will likely never speak again following the release of ESPN’s 2020 docuseries,The Last Dance, which retold the story of the 1990s Bulls dynasty.
Sinceits premiere, Pippen has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the series, even writing in his memoir,Unguarded, that producers “glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates.”
While appearing on theBill Simmons Podcast, Oakley said he believes Pippen felt “left out” when compared to others who received screen time in the series.
“I think he feels like they didn’t present him more inTheLast Dance,” Oakley, 58, told Simmons.
“I think they did Dennis Rodman more than Scottie and Steve Kerr,” Oakley said. “But my thing to that is, Kerr did way more off the court than Scottie. Dennis probably has, too. But on that court, Scottie did a lot more than both of them, but Scottie felt like he was left out of there.”
“And he felt like Jordan wouldn’t have six rings if it wasn’t for him,” he continued.
When asked whether he believes Pippen and Jordan can mend their relationship following the release ofThe Last Dance, Oakley was direct in his answer.
“No, I think it’s over,” Oakley told Simmons. “Yeah, I think it’s over. It wasn’t great from the get-go.”
As to what he thinks Jordan will do moving forward, Oakley said, “he’s just gonna keep doing what he’s doing — play golf, fish, relax and smoke cigars.”
Reps for Jordan and Pippen did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
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When speaking toPEOPLEin November, Pippen said he “definitely wanted to make sure that I addressed some things that were said in the documentary that I didn’t agree with” when criticizingThe Last Dancefollowing its release.
Pippen said he believed Jordan, whopreviously had control over the 1997-1998 Bulls' season footagein the show until agreeing to its release for the series, could have helped the doc focus more on the team than himself.
“I just felt like that he had rights to really control something that I felt like should have been more historically about the Chicago Bulls, more about that team, and the history of that team,” he explained. “Especially, the last three seasons. And I just didn’t think it went in that direction.”
source: people.com
