The Last Dance was a huge success for ESPN as it took an in-depth look into the Chicago Bulls during the 1997-98 season. However, former Bulls star Scottie Pippen had some issues with the 10-part docuseries and let Michael Jordan know about it. In an interview with The Guardian, Pippen revealed that he wasn’t happy about how The Last Dance was all about Jordan instead of telling the story of the Bulls during that time.
“I don’t think it was that accurate in terms of really defining what was accomplished in one of the greatest eras of basketball, but also by two of the greatest players – and one could even put that aside and say the greatest team of all time,” Pippen said. “I didn’t think those things stood out in the documentary. I thought it was more about Michael trying to uplift himself and to be glorified. I think it also backfired to some degree in that people got a chance to see what kind of personality Michael had.”
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Pippen went on to say that he talked to Jordan about the series. “I told him I wasn’t too pleased with it. He accepted it. He said, ‘hey, you’re right.’ That was pretty much it.” This is not the first time, Pippen has expressed his frustration at Jordan for The Last Dance. Back in May, it was reported that Pippen was “livid” at Jordan for his portrayal in the series.
“He is so angry at Michael and how he was portrayed, called selfish, called this, called that, that he’s furious that he participated and did not realize what he was getting himself into,” David Kaplan of ESPN 1000 said. Pippen was bothered that Jordan called him selfish in the second episode. Pippen decided to have surgery at the start of the 1997-98 season which led to him missing the first part of the year. In the episode, Pippen admitted he was not in rush to return as he was looking to get a contract extension. Despite the issues Pippen had with Jordan in terms of The Last Dance, the two were arguably the best duo in NBA history as they won six NBA championships together. Both are also members of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list which was announced in 1996.
