Getty Scottie Pippen, former Chicago Bulls star and current Hall-of-Famer
Scottie Pippen’s feud with former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause was one of the central themes of the first two episodes of the smash-hit Michael Jordan documentary, The Last Dance.
Pippen and Jordan are the only two players to play on all six of the team’s NBA Championship teams, and the latter never even won a single playoff series without the former, but where is the Hall-of-Famer now?
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Scottie Pippen’s Current Job
The 54-year-old from Hamburg, Arkansas is currently an analyst for ESPN’s The Jump. He was working as a special advisor to Team President Michael Reinsdorf, but Pippen claims he was fired from his position during the NBA All-Star Weekend in February, per Elio Velez of the New York Post.
“I got fired this year. I didn’t really want it to be in the public, but I’m no longer employed by the Bulls,” Pippen said in the interview with TMZ Sports.
Pippen didn’t seem too bothered by his latest departure from the Bulls. He left this parting shot in his exit.
“It’s probably a good thing, right?” Pippen said. “I like to associate myself with winning.”
Scottie Pippen’s NBA Career
GettyMichael Jordan (L) and Scottie Pippen (R)
In 2010, in his first year of eligibility, Pippen was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Pippen was selected fifth overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics who had worked a draft-day trade with the Bulls. The Bulls selected Virginia center Olden Polynice and sent him to the Sonics in exchange for Pippen.
Krause had scouted and fell in love with Pippen in Arkansas. From his rookie season, Pippen’s defensive prowess and athleticism were apparent. It took a while for his scoring to come around. He averaged just 7.6 points per game in his first year, but he wasn’t yet a starter despite appearing in 79 games.
By his second year, the Bulls were blossoming into a championship contender with Jordan, Pippen, and Grant as the core. Pippen’s scoring numbers jumped to 14.4 in Year 2, 16.5 in his third season when he also made his first of seven NBA All-Star Games.
By Year 4, Pippen was a legit superstar and he helped the Bulls win their first of six championships. Pippen averaged 17.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks. Somehow, he didn’t make the All-Star team that year.
However, Pippen’s fifth season set off a six-year-run that solidified his Hall-of-Fame credentials. Not only did play the perfect Robin to Jordan’s Batman for five of the next seven years en route to a handful of rings, Pippen showed his individual greatness without MJ.
When Jordan retired and chased a dream to play baseball in the 1993-94 season and most of the 94-95 campaign, Pippen was arguably the game’s best all-around player. In 93-94, Pippen scored 22.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.9 steals while shooting 49 percent from the field. Pippen and the Bulls were a bad Hue Hollins call away from heading to the NBA Finals to play the eventual NBA Champion Houston Rockets.
The following season, Pippen led the Bulls most of the year until Jordan returned for the final 19 games of the regular season. Jordan wasn’t quite in shape for the stretch run and the team was ousted from the playoffs by Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant, and the Orlando Magic.
Jordan would return to form, the Bulls traded for Dennis Rodman and the team was ready to begin its second three-peat. Pippen would ultimately leave the Bulls via trade in January 1999. The Bulls sent Pippen to the Houston Rockets where he teamed with Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon for one season.
GettyScottie Pippen of the Houston Rockets (R) drives to the basket past Kobe Bryant (C) and Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers during their 05 February game in Los Angeles, CA. Pippen was traded to the Rockets from the Chicago Bulls in the off-season.
Later that year, Pippen was traded again. This time, the Rockets sent Pippen to the Portland Trail Blazers for six players (Stacey Augmon, Kelvin Cato, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw, and Walt Williams).
GettyNBA superstar Scottie Pippen (R) holds a press conference announcing his arrival in Portland, Oregon, 04 October, 1999, after a six-player trade between the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trailblazers. Blazer coach Mike Dunleavy (L) listens to Pippen.
Pippen would play four seasons with the Blazers nearly helping them reach the NBA Finals on two occasions before re-signing with the Bulls for his final season in 2003-04.
gETTYScottie Pippen #33 of the Chicago Bulls shoots a free throw during the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on January 21, 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Pippen played 17 seasons, scored 18,940 points, grabbed 7,494 rebounds, dished 6,135 assists, managed 2,307 steals, and swatted 947 shots. Pippen won six NBA championships, made seven All-Star teams, voted to seven All-NBA teams, 10 All-Defense teams, and he won the 1993-94 All-Star Game MVP.