Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan may have been one of the best duos to ever grace the court as teammates, but the former now believes their fractured friendship is beyond repair.
Pippen and Jordan won six NBA championships together during their time as Chicago Bulls teammates.
However, true fans know that their relationship has fractured since the release of the 2020 ESPN docuseries, The Last Dance.
And Pippen has now revealed that their broken friendship was irreparable even long before the docuseries was released.
“I think Michael is a very difficult person to deal with,” Pippen said recently on PBD Podcast. “I played with him for years, so I know that when the time comes to move in your direction, then do it.”
'Don't sit there and try to procrastinate or stretch the idea that the relationship isn't where it was or isn't what it used to be, and will never be the same. So why try to make something from nothing? Or try to make something that never existed?
Scottie Pippen (left) and Michael Jordan (right) won six NBA championships together with the Bulls
Pippen recently suggested their fractured relationship was beyond repair.
Pippen, a seven-time NBA All-Star, admitted that toward the end of his playing days, they were never really close to begin with.
The 59-year-old confessed that the only time he spent in Jordan's presence was on the court. He explained that while they may have attended social engagements together as Bulls teammates, they never spent time together.
“I guess the last three championships we won, we trained together at his house, but other than that, we didn't spend a lot of time outside of basketball,” Pippen explained. “Most of our time was spent whether we were working out or on the practice court.”
Pippen previously opened up about their fractured relationship in his 2021 book, 'Unguarded,' but admitted that the blame for the breakup did not fall entirely on Jordan.
“I usually don't let our lack of closeness bother me,” Pippen wrote. 'I have many friends. However, there are times, and watching the documentary was definitely one where I think about the relationship I wish the two of us had, and it hurts. It hurts a lot. I am by no means an innocent party here. “I missed out on some opportunities that could have made a difference and I have to live with that.”
Pippen also alluded to choosing not to approach Jordan when news of his father's murder broke in 1993. He wrote: 'I feel horrible every time I think about it. Michael's father, James Jordan, had been murdered.
'The two were inseparable. When I heard the news, I should have contacted Michael immediately. Having lost my own father three years earlier, I might have been able to offer Michael some comfort. To this day, he and I have not spoken about his father's death.
Their relationship appeared to suffer a further blow when Pippen's ex-wife, Larsa, began dating Jordan's son, Marcus, who was 17 years younger. They recently separated and apparently no longer speak to each other.