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Chicago Bulls: Scottie Pippen seemed to be under-appreciated

By Vincent Parise

CHICAGO, IL - FEBRUARY 15: Former players Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls watch a game between the Bulls and the Charlotte Bobcats at the United Center on February 15, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls defeated the Bobcats 106-94. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - FEBRUARY 15: Former players Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls watch a game between the Bulls and the Charlotte Bobcats at the United Center on February 15, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls defeated the Bobcats 106-94. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Bulls had a run of dominance in the 90s. “The Last Dance” makes it seem that Scottie Pippen was under-appreciated.

The Chicago Bulls themed documentary on ESPN called “The Last Dance” came out on Sunday night. There were two episodes that streamed and not everything about that year was pretty. Of course, Michael Jordan was the engine of that team en route to being the greatest basketball player who ever lived. With that said, Scottie Pippen was an all-world future Hall of Fame player and it seemed like he was a bit disrespected at times.

The first thing that we can point to is money. We all know the value of the NBA and how much players make in the year 2020. Well, they weren’t quite as rich in the 1990s but they still were handsomely paid. If your name was Scottie Pippen, however, you weren’t getting paid your value. He played during those glory days with the Bulls on a seven-year, 18 million dollar contract. As a top-five player in the league,  he wasn’t even one of the 100 highest-paid players in the league.

The show also made it seem that there were times that the management group was thinking about trading him. He made it clear that even in modern times, he feels like he was disrespected during his Bulls tenure. There were times that he didn’t even want to wear that Bulls jersey anymore.

Scottie was, however, well-compensated once he finally left the Bulls after winning that 1998 championship with the Bulls. How could he not be? He was a seven-time all-star, six-time NBA Champion, and ten-time all-defensive player of the year. He went into the Hall of Fame with ease so it is good to know that he was well compensated when he joined the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers.

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The entire second episode seemed to revolve around Pippen’s role on the team. He will probably go down as the greatest number two player who ever lived. Jordan is the greatest ever, but there is a reason that once Pippen showed up, they started winning all of these championships. This second episode really gave us a deeper dive into Scottie’s fallout with the Bulls.  There is still more to see with Scottie in upcoming episodes.

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