The ESPN docuseries The Last Dance covers—among other things—the professional and personal relationship between Chicago Bulls teammates Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The two do speak highly of each other at some points; Jordan, who was involved in the making of the series, expresses admiration for his former teammate, and in particular their ability to play well together. But a good chunk of the documentary also covers some of the disagreements between the two, including Pippen's decision to have surgery at the beginning of the Bulls' 1997-8 season (the year that the series primarily covers).
Pippen is reportedly unhappy with his portrayal, with sources telling Yahoo he feels "wounded and disappointed." It's not totally clear exactly how the two felt about each other before all of this happened, but the fact that Pippen agreed to go on the series in the first place and their expressed admiration for each other speaks to at least a mutual respect. So where do things stand now? A little bit of this is TBD, since as of this writing the final episodes haven't aired. But here's what we do know.
Pippen and Jordan have seemed friendly in the last few years.
Reports differ on how close the former teammates actually are—and frankly, much of that is speculation anyways, since the two aren't giving us minute-by-minute details of their relationship. But we do know the two seemed to respect each other even after they stopped playing together. Not only that, but they've been seen together in public since.
The two were spotted sitting together at a Bulls game in 2011 (the Bulls apparently won, and the whole experience must have been so cool):
The two also reunited on the court briefly in 2017 for a "friendly shooting competition" with students from Jordan's Flight School basketball camp.
Pippen also regularly posts throwbacks from their time as teammates:
And in February, Pippen wished Jordan a happy birthday with a sweet caption:
Jordan doesn't have personal social media. But in an interview, when asked to select his all-time top five, Pippen was at the top of the list:
But Pippen is reportedly unhappy about 'The Last Dance.'
Pippen has not officially commented about Jordan's series. Unlike other players, who have given interviews since, he's been quiet.
Former teammate Dennis Rodman came to his defense, saying, "He should be holding his head up higher than Michael Jordan in this documentary...I think a lot of people are now realizing what he went through. The kid was a hero, in a lot of ways, during those great Bulls runs."
So TBD on what that means for the relationship between Jordan and Pippen going forward. Pippen is reportedly hoping for "redemption" with the final episodes.
WATCH 'THE LAST DANCE' ON ESPN+
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