Prior to becoming teammates, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen had a strained relationship, largely fueled by their intense on-court rivalry. The fact that Rodman played for the Bad Boy Pistons and Pippen for the Chicago Bulls added fuel to the fire. In 1991, the Bulls swept the defending champions, the Pistons, in the Eastern Conference finals. However, what transpired after the series remains a significant factor in the strained relationship between Michael Jordan and Isaiah Thomas. During an interview with Arsenio Hall in 1991, Scottie Pippen made disparaging remarks about Dennis Rodman, criticizing him for being unprofessional and implying that they hadn’t shaken hands. These comments further strained their relationship before eventually becoming teammates.
32 years later, former teammates seem to have united against Michael Jordan. While Scottie called Jordan a “horrible player,” Rodman, in an interview with VladTV, said that Pippen made Jordan the superstar that he later became. He also added that Jordan scored 40 points in the game, but he could never do it himself before Pippen.
Scottie Pippen slams Dennis Rodman for unprofessional m
Before Pip and Worm became teammates, they shared an ugly past with each other. During the 1991 Eastern Conference finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons, things got heated between the two players. In the fourth quarter of the finals match, before the Bulls swept the Pistons, Dennis shoved Pippen, leaving him in blood. The wound was so bad that he had to get six stitches. After the win, when Pippen sat for the interview with Hall, he addressed Rodman’s shove at him and the Pistons walking off the court without shaking hands after the defeat. Pippen said in the interview
“We (him and Dennis) haven’t done anything… since they left the floor even before the game was over. None of them congratulated us except John Sally. He was professional and manly enough to do that.”
He also remarked that, except Sally, everyone in the Pistons squad thought the Bulls had lucked out. But Pippen gave a savage answer to the doubters and said that the Bulls had swept the Pistons. If it was the finals, they would have brought the broom into the arena.
Coach Phil Jackson made Rodman apologize to Pippen
Rodman was a nightmare as an opponent and the most trustworthy as a teammate. The man was always ready to go to war with his teammates. In 1995, after Rodman was traded to the Bulls from the Spurs. However, knowing that there was a bad history between Dennis The Menace and Pip, coach Phil Jackson called both players to Jerry Krause’s house. He made Rodman apologize to Pippen in order for Dennis to succeed with the Bulls. Rodman confirmed this on VladTV.
