“The Last Dance”: How Scottie Pippen was shortchanged

“The Last Dance”: How Scottie Pippen was shortchanged

By Robert Alfonso Jr.

The wait was finally over. We were all waited for the much anticipated and often talked about “The Last Dance” on ESPN. This was not scheduled to premiere until the summer when basketball would be wrapping up.

Since the entire country is quarantined the need for sports is something people craved. Prior to Sunday night’s episodes 1 and 2, everyone on social media posted their favorite memories about Michael Jordan. The anticipated trip down memory lane did not disappoint.

Basketball fans had a chance to see Mike Jordan transform and evolved into Michael Jordan after hitting the game-winning shot for North Carolina to win the NCAA National championship. Then Jordan’s 49 and 63 point performance in the NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics. Even basketball Hall of Fame legend Larry Bird said, “It’s just God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

Then the documentary gave us insight into Jordan’s relationship with Scottie Pippen.

“Whenever they speak about Micheal Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen,” Jordan said.

Pippen, from Arkansas, was always considered the Robin to Jordan’s Batman. The 6-foot-7 small forward is the smaller version physically of LeBron James today.

Yeah, I said it. Prove me wrong.

Pippen’s journey to the NBA was not an easy one though. He was a manager at the University of Central Arkansas as a freshman, an NAIA school. The following year, he made the team before hitting a growth spurt the following summer. This is when Pippen’s game and recognition took off. 

The grainy highlight footage showed off all his athletic ability and versatility. This leads to NBA scouts to venture to the NAIA school.

Pippen was then drafted by the now-defunct Seattle Supersonics before being traded to the Bulls. He was in the top-five in every statistical category while with the Chicago Bulls.

Basketball fans were then introduced to the business of basketball.

During the Bulls dynasty, Pippen signed a seven-year $18 million dollar contract extension. At the time, he was the 122nd highest-paid player in the NBA. Pippen was the sixth highest-paid player on the Bulls. The teams second-best player on the team was making $2,775,000 in the team’s final season together 1997-1998.

How did he get this contract?

According to Forbes Magazine, Pippen agreed to a lengthy contract extension during the NBA Finals in 1991 keeping him on the Bulls until the 1997-98 season. This helped the Bulls stay $1.6 million under the salary cap in hopes of signing Toni Kukoc.

Since Kukoc did not come over from Europe, the Bulls gave Pippen his money upfront. The contract had $765,000 left. 

Pippen front end money was $2,7770,00 in the 1991-92 season and $3,425,00 the following season. He was considered one of the highest-paid players in the league at the time. As the years went on, Pippen’s salary declined to give the Bulls the flexibility to sign players, which included Kukoc in 1993. 

He signed the contract because he had to take care of his family, especially his father and brother who were in wheelchairs. Pippen’s father suffered a stroke when Pippen was a kid and his brother was paralyzed from a wrestling accident. Like many would say, “He secured the bag.”

Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Pippen’s agent took a beating on social media. Reinsdorf was not one to renegotiate deals. Pippen didn’t play much during the regular season but was there, in the end, to help the Bulls secure its sixth NBA championship.

Due to the Bulls popularity, the NBA salary cap nearly doubled in 1995 after a new collective bargaining agreement was signed. This gave teams the opportunity to offer a player like Pippen more money. Reinsdorf and then general manager Jerry Krause refused to renegotiate. 

While so many were upset about Pippen’s contract. He left Chicago to finish off with stops in Houston and Portland. His ex-wife, Larsa Pippen, made sure to inform the world how much Pippen made throughout his career. She tweeted out this photo.

The first two episodes taught us some things we knew and didn’t know.

Jordan has been a high-level competitor since getting cut from his high school varsity team as a sophomore. He was always looking for blood. Second, basketball is a team sport but sometimes you have to do what is best for you. Pippen did this because of the people he needed to take care of.

The nest two episodes 3 & 4 should certainly give us some more insight on the Bulls. We will get to meet Dennis Rodman and learn about the Jordan Rules.