Stephen A. Smith GOES OFF on Scottie Pippen about Michael Jordan comments. “Is it personal Scottie?”

I saw what Scottie Pippen had to say and I have to admit to everyone that I was quite surprised, I really was. Scottie Pippen appeared on a podcast, uh, podcast by his former teammate Stacy Kings and Scottie Pippen started talking about the great Michael Jordan, a person who I consider to be the greatest Michael Jordan who ever lived. I want to start my

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, you know how they put those disclaimers up there and they say disclaimer, you know, you know your parents' notices and things like that, let me put. this notice before hearing what Scottie Pippen had to say about his former teammate Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

I would like to remind you that Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a six-time champion. I would like to remind you that Michael Jordan is a six-time champion. -time NBA Finals MVP I would like to inform you that Michael Jordan is a five-time league VP, 10-time scoring champion, and a nine-time member of the NBA's All-Defensive First Team. I would also like to remind you that Michael Jordan in his sixth Championship appearances undefeated in those six Championship appearances never allowed a championship round to reach seven games. He eliminated everyone in six or less. He took out Magic Johnson with vladi divock and Eldon Campbell and all those guys.

He eliminated Clyde Drexler. Terry Porter. Kevin Duckworth, Cliff Robinson and all those guys in Portland going for their second title, he beat Charles Barkley and the great Kevin Johnson and Dan Marley and those guys in Phoenix in the first replay. He retired after that title in 93. He left in a 93-94 season and returned with 17 games remaining in the 95 season where they ended up losing in the second round to the Orlando Magic when he first returned about a week after returning after not playing for almost two years, he fell. a Double Nickel on my New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden where he and Michael Jordan came back and won titles four, five and six from 1996 to 1998, beat Karl Malone and John Stockton and those guys he beat, Gary Payton and Sean Kemp, whom he defeated. calm alone and John Stockton again that Michael Jordan that is the same Michael Jordan that Scottie Pippin said this about I saw Michael Jordan play before he came to play with the Bulls you saw him play he is a horrible player it was horrible to play with him it was all one by one he was shooting bad shots and suddenly we became a team and started winning everyone forgot who he was could you do me a favor?

I'm looking at my producers here right now because I had to endure that before taking a little break and I feel the need to listen to that again one more time to make sure I hear the words that Scottie Pippen associated with the Michael Jeffrey Jordan performance that I again saw touch Michael Jordan before coming. playing with the bulls you saw him play he is a horrible player it was horrible playing with him he was all one on one he was taking bad shots and suddenly we became a team and started winning everyone forgot who my Lord was okay ladies and gentlemen, I would like to remind everyone that Scottie Pippen was chosen fifth overall, I think in the '87 draft, if I remember correctly, three years after Michael Jordan was in the league, Scottie Pippen first averaged seven points in his first year in the league. 14 points in his second year in the league, we all know Scottie Pittman was a great player, we all know he's one of the best players to ever play basketball, we all know he's an all-around defensive player and he's himself.

He's a six-time champion, there's nothing to take away from his greatness as a player, but he played second fiddle for a reason because anyone with eyes doesn't even need 20 20 Vision By the way, I knew there was Michael Jordan and then there was everyone else, I would like to remind you that before Michael Jordan, years before Michael Jordan won a title in '86 and '87, when he was swept in the best-of-five series by the Boston Celtics, Larry Birdingham, even when he was swept in like '86 and there was lost 63 in the game at the Boston Garden the great Larry Bird called Michael Jordan God in gym shorts God in gym shorts that's what Scottie Pippen is talking about that guy let me explain this to you from a basketball perspective these were Michael Jordan teammates team where he first entered the league.

I wanted to make sure I looked it up because I didn't want to get any names wrong. His first year in the league, in case you hadn't noticed, his coach was Kevin Loffry. Kevin Lockery. Well, number one, the Chicago Bulls had been 38 and 44 that first year, Michael Jordan was in the league, this is a rookie, this is a rookie year, ladies and gentlemen, this is 1984. Okay, because I want to make sure Let us know that this is 1984. 1980 Season 45 Michael Jordan is a rookie from the University of North Carolina, his teammates are Orlando Wooldridge, who was not a scrub Quinton Daly Dave Corzine Dave Greenwood Steve Johnson, a 34-year-old Caldwell Jones years Ennis Whatley Wes Matthews Juwan Oldham Sydney Green foreigner who was Michael Jordan's team Michael Jordan averaged 28.2 points per game as a rookie.

I want to go one step further, because some of you sometimes forget. If you remember, Michael Jordan had only played 18 games the following season, which was 85-86. He had only started seven games because he found out he had a bad foot and had had surgery and had missed all of those games and Jerry Krause, the then general manager, who by the way was a great executive, had insisted that Michael Jordan did not play and made everything he could to prevent Michael Jordan from returning to the basketball court, essentially implying that you will do what you're told, which Michael Jordan incredibly resisted that season.

Michael Jordan averaged 22.7 per game and 18 games. that he played due to the injury from that point on. I'm looking at my producers here. I'm looking at all of you here. I want everyone to pay attention to what I'm saying. This is Michael Jeffrey Jordan. What we're talking about here, these were Michael Jordan's scoring averages with a minimum of 48 field goals over the course of the next seven years 37 35 32 and a half 33.6 31.5 30.1 32.6 That's what we're talking about, we're talking about Air Jordan, we're talking about a guy who took the NBA to a stratosphere that is appropriately described as global, if not out of this world, out of another world, there is no dream team in Barcelona without Jordan, the NBA is as great as it was with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Being promoted extensively by the NBA, they altered their marketing plans because Nike had Jordan and everyone wanted to see Jordan. Jordan was almost as great as Michael Jackson, that's who Scottie Pippen just said he was a horrible player. Now one could easily deduce what Scottie Pippen said and just ask a very rhetorical question if Jordan was horrible, what the hell did that make you? But that would be disrespectful to Scottie Pippen and Scottie Pippen doesn't deserve that, but you know what Scottie Pippen deserves, he deserves to hear the truth, someone has to say. Several truths come to mind, number one, you're not someone I have much respect for for Scottie Pippen to categorize you this way, but how you sound in this particular video where you talk about Michael Jordan, you sound like a damn fool. an ignorant guy who doesn't know the game, we know a lot more than that, we know how brilliant you are at knowing the game, Scotty Pippen, we know how much knowledge you have, so it just reminds me of two other things about you bro, envy and bitterness , that's The two things, let's count the number one ways you're not Michael Jordan.

First of all, you knew you knew when he left the game. You knew it when you wore Jordan sneakers when you were on the court and kicking. for the cameras to see you clamoring for Michael Jordan to come back you didn't hate him so you didn't hate him when you needed them was it Jordan's fault in 1994 when you were facing the Knicks in the Eastern Conference? semi-finals and it was the third game and you refused to enter a game because Phil Jackson called the last play for Tony, cool coach instead of you and Bill went straight to veteran center Bill Cartwright, there was a former Nick who was traded to the Chicago Bulls at Charles Oakley, years before, I was sitting on the bench berating you while the cameras rolled, wasn't it Bill Cartwright who started crying after Tony's coach hit the game-winning shot that Phil Jackson had ordered for him? the New York Knicks in that third game, wasn't it Bill Cartwright who started crying because he looked you in the face in front of the entire team and talked about you abandoning them and letting him down?

Michael Jordan was to blame for that. Could anyone on this planet have ever imagined Michael Jordan refusing to enter the game because a final shot was a decision for him? You know why you can't imagine that because Michael Jordan would have had the final. shot for him, you know what Michael Jordan would have done, he would have kicked John Paxton or you know, he would have kicked it to Steve Kerr or he would have kicked it to B.J Armstrong or Craig Hodges before them. I understand there is a lot of bitterness in the air. As for Michael Jordan, I understand all that because Michael Jordan clearly took too much shine on the odds from some of his teammates.

I've heard other teammates talk about it, but I'm surprised how everyone wants to jump in and review this story and talk. about him now, well why did you talk about it when it was popular? Why did you talk about that when you were playing with him? Why didn't you talk about him when he was on the court averaging over 30 people a night? and Night Out intimidating people in a way that LeBron James never has and it's not to shade LeBron James. I'm just saying Michael Jordan was different, how come you didn't talk about him and then how come you didn't talk about him when he was in your face when your teammate helped you become a six time champion, how come that wasn't happened?

So if someone like Craig Hodges wants to be bitter about Michael Jordan, I'm okay with that because I don't know the details and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you without his permission when it comes to Craig Hodges and Michael Jordan, but you I will tell this about Craig Hodges, he is a deep brother, he is a special man and boy, he was a long range sniper. He really was something special and that brother deserved to be a champion, deserved to be on a Bulls roster for years, deserved to be honored, so if there's some bitterness in him, I'm fine with it coming from him.

I'm fine with that, but you, Scotty Pippen, had a chance to win without Jordan, you didn't, you know, you're probably bitter about that money you didn't get from Jerry Ryan, so if the Bulls owner who implored on your Face, don't sign this deal. This is not a good deal for you. I know guaranteed money looks good right now, but it will be a better deal for you in a year or two and you wanted the money now. so you took it when he advised you not to and Jordan advised you not to, but you still signed the deal and it ended sour because they won't restructure your deal and to some extent they maintained that against Jordan you hated him when he had done it. the flu or he was poisoned by a pizza delivered to his room or whatever against Utah in the finals and he still went out and lost about 38. and when he hit the game-winning shot he went back to the bench and walking back he practically collapsed.

You had to hold him in your arms because he was very sick but you needed him to take that injection, right? How about when your back came out we didn't mention the migraine in '88 when you couldn't get in? In the seventh game against Detroit, we won't even mention that when Jordan started crying because his championship kept eluding him and he was crying in his father's arms on a team bus because somehow, once again, you could show up, there was a Intestinal fortitude that you had when you were in the Championship, but that you had to cultivate and develop over the years because at the beginning of your career, Scottie Pippen didn't have it, he had it and he had to carry the load and carry you. and see how your game evolved and see how Elite you became that as a defensive player as a ball handler as a playmaker your game to some extent seemed to mirror Jordan half the time you were clearly learning from him but now we "want to forget that now we want to forget about Scotty and why we are doing that because your feelings about the Last Dance are heard because Jordan had editorial control according to you because because he had editorial control and he highlighted the parts of how you did it.

I don't want to sign for the money and you would end up bitter because you didn't get your contract or he wanted to sit there and highlight how you quit your team. You want to blame Scottie Pippen, don. I don't blame Jordan. He blamed television journalism for it. He blamed the television. I blame the big executives for it. The executives at the time were kind of a shell who just now has his own production company and is doing great things. Who is my former boss at ESPN and, by the way. A great guy blames people like him for knowing television.

Me and knowing what the hell people want to see. We respect all the great Chicago playersBulls. It starts with Scottie Pippen. Stacy King did his job. Bill Wennington did his job. Luke Longley. his job Bill Cartwright did his job Horace Grant did his job Dennis Rodman sure did his job B.J Armstrong did his job Greg Hodges did his job John Paxton did his job Steve Kerr did his job the list

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on and on for those teammates who they did their damn job Phil Jackson six championships they never won until they got Phil Jackson as the head coach they never wanted Tell Dex Tex he went to introduce that triangle office they never won before that crazy love and respect no doubt no we care, even during the pandemic, when there were no sports, there is no way the kind of views you saw The Last Dance would have happened if it hadn't featured Michael Jordan, we wouldn't have cared, he's the best, we watched it with our own eyes, you were great, Scotty, and even with the greatness, even with your greatness, you weren't in his class, it was good. television that was provided to a hungry audience that desperately needed riveting content without sports being played due to the pandemic and there's no way we'd be interested in The Last Dance if The Last Dance was about Michael Jordan, but everyone else was they had done equally. to evolve around him, so he told his story, he talked about how you were going to walk out the door and you were going to leave, he had to mention why that was because of what happened at the beginning of your career as a Chicago Bulls, if it wasn't So.

Going into the game or you were signing a bad contract, you had to do that, you had to highlight things about Harvest Grant, you had to highlight things about others, that's what made the story you're telling a story, are you so angry, Scotty, is it

personal

? It's just about basketball, it's about the sun, hanging out with the ex-wife, not judging. I'm just saying you wear your bitterness on your sleeve for a reason, it's not right, it's not right, it's beyond wrong and if you like it. or not, it's a total betrayal, you're shooting at Michael Jordan at every turn.

Was he supposed to give you a job? Was he supposed to make sure there was money in your pocket? Didn't he come to you with a deal with Nike? I loved you? sign to ensure that you continue to get paid and you let it go is Stephen A, you said you heard baby, you know it's a rhetorical question, you know, I know the answer, come on man, let me relax with everything you're 57 you're 57. the Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Michael Jordan does not deserve that from you. He has never stopped saying that he would never have won anything without you.

He has never stopped saying that you are the best teammate he has ever had. He has never failed to acknowledge his appreciation for what we all know is your greatness as an iconic NBA talent. You don't have to sink to these low levels, brother. You should really be ashamed of yourself and still trying to sell. a book they're still talking to a bestseller I would know something about selling books The New York Times bestseller nine weeks I know something about it candid Memoir Second Chances and First Takes I wrote a book too I don't do any of that come on Come on brother, come on.