YouTube Gold: Scottie Pippen Sulks While Toni Kukoc Hits The Game Winner
A legendary play and a blemish on Pippen’s legend
The Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen partnership led the Chicago Bulls to the second-greatest era in NBA history: with six championships in eight years, only the Boston Celtics with 11 titles in 13 years had a better run.
It might have been more had Jordan not taken a two-year break after his father was murdered. Who could blame him?
The Bulls had a tougher time without him though and in his absence in 1994, Scottie Pippen saw himself as the go-to player.
So when coach Phil Jackson didn't call on Pippen for a last-second shot in the playoffs, Pippen was offended and stayed on the bench.
That Jackson designed the play for Toni Kukoc increased Pippen’s irritation.
Jordan and Pippen were both offended with how the Bulls had pursued Kukoc and during the 1992 Olympics, basically shut him down to make a point to management.
What happened probably didn’t make Pippen feel great either: Pete Myers took Pippen’s spot and in-bounded the ball to Kukoc with 1.8 left on the clock - and nailed it.