In ‘Unguarded’, the upcoming memoir, Scottie Pippen criticizes the ‘Last Dance’ series and how former teammate Michael Jordan has placed himself at the center of all the stories.
‘Last Dance’ came out in April 2020 and tells the saga of the six Chicago Bulls titles through the eyes of Michael Jordan.
Although Jordan is almost always the protagonist of every episode, the script explored the paths of Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and even coach Phil Jackson.
For Pippen, however, none of this was enough, because in the understanding of the former player, currently 56, Michael Jordan agreed to do ‘Last Dance’ simply to “show the current generation that he was the best of all times.”
Scottie Pippen’s criticism comes in ‘Unguarded’, which will be released on November 9th.
According to some excerpts already published by GQ magazine, the former Chicago Bulls player was displeased and disillusioned with the way Jordan told the story and placed himself at the center of the narratives.
“All the episodes glorified Michael Jordan without remembering fairly and honestly neither my participation nor that of my proud teammates. And Michael has a large share of the blame for that. The producers gave him editorial control of the final product, so it couldn’t come out any other way. He was the protagonist and director», begins by defending Pippen.
“Michael was determined to show the current generation that he was the best ever. Even better than LeBron James, the player that many consider not only his equal but even his superior. Michael presented his story, not the ‘Last Dance’ story,” he adds.
Scottie Pippen further reveals that he was genuinely surprised when he saw the final version of the series.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Again and again, the focus of attention shined on number 23. Even in the second episode, which focused on the difficulties I went through to reach the NBA, the narrative returned to MJ and her determination to win. I was nothing more than an accessory. ‘My best teammate of all time’, he called me. Even if I tried, I couldn’t have been more condescending», will also be read.
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