Scottie Pippen refuses to enter the game for the final seconds of Game 3 (EC Semi-finals). The game was tied at 102 -102, 1.8 seconds left on the clock and Phil Jackson makes the decision to put the ball in Tony Kukoč’s hands. The rest is history.
by ToronoRapture
45 Comments
“And I took that personally” – Toni Kukoc
Toni Kukoc was him
I messed up with the title. Toni autocorrected to Tony.
Scottie had played 40 mins and was 10/20 from the field.
He had 25/7/4 + 2 steals and a block.
Up until this point, Tony had only played 13 mins and didn’t even start the game.
You can understand Scottie’s frustration as MJ had retired so this was HIS time to shine… But Scottie had played a sloppy 4th quarter and had **badly** missed two shots leading up this point which ultimately led to Ewing tying the game.
Bulls ended up losing the series 3-4 to the Knicks who then went on to beat Indiana but lose to the Rockets in the finals.
It’s tough to think of another moment that hurt a star’s legacy this much **in a win**.
Remember watching this game live. Scottie Pippen was on fire and had playing good all game. He was proving his point that year that he could lead a team and be the #1 option while MJ was out.
With the chance to finally prove himself as an elite superstar and not just a #2 guy Phil crushes his optimism. Phil, clearly not wanting Pippen to out shine MJ, chose Kukoc to take the shot over Pippen.
I was just as equally upset for Pippen cause it was the defining moment for him to prove himself and to quiet all the naysayers. Phil took that away from him and I can say I agree with Scottie sitting out and not returning in the game.
I think it was all to protect MJ. If Scottie hit that shot it would have been a clear sign that this Bulls team didn’t need MJ to win and that Scottie was a legit MVP candidate that season.
He was a complainer all his life, not just now
I thinks it’s interesting to see people’s emotional states and insecurities playing out in public display. We all have them but when you are a pro athlete its almost on display for the world to see.
I would like to peer into Pippens brain and see what kind of childhood or adult emotional events that led him to behave this way.
It’s still an issue for him because to this day he sounds miserable (not even including this incident)
What year? Was this one of the gap years while MJ was out?
That random last shot of the reporter complaining about the NCAA kicking them out of the stadium to shoot is hilarious.
Like his attitude or not. He is still one of the most underrated players ever. MJ would not have gotten six rings without Pippen’s horrible contract.
Wasn’t this the reason why Scottie called Phil a racist in 2019/2020??? Just destroyed Scotties legacy despite winning **3 more rings**
Stubborn ass motherfuckers doubled down on this during the last dance. Could’ve rehabbed his legacy if he just showed a little remorse. Disclaimer: have always loved Pip but man he makes it hard to do so
Pippen was a better player than Kukoc.
For that kind of shoots? Always give the ball to Kukoc.
Thanks to The Last Dance, every time I read “Kukoc” I hear it in Dennis Rodman’s voice.
No Tippin Pippen didn’t even want to give a little extra to his teammates.
The look on Scotty Williams (Big Sexy) face says it all. The one time I spoke to Scotty about Pippen years later you could tell things were still “raw”.
Great player, generational little bitch
Look at this teammate eye-rolls at 00:35
The ending of this video is hilarious with the reporter complaining in the snow LOL did not expect that at all. Poor guy
Love the reporter complaining about the weather at the end lol
This era is before my time being a bball fan and Im feeling total whoosh right now
I gotta watch the last dance
The guy bitching about the big 10 at the end was way more entertaining
Bitchmade
Pippen was incredible that year though. Led the team in almost all the stats and so close to making conf finals.
He looks like such a choad here lol
1994… fuck me im old now
I think given the context of him living under the shadow of MJ it’s somewhat understandable from a human perspective. In his mind he was thinking it’s my team, it’s my shot, it’s my moment. Absolutely selfish and egotistical but I don’t begrudge him for feeling that way in that moment.
And now he’s running crypto scams. This guy STINKS
Oh man I remember this. I didn’t follow basketball at all but everyone was talking about this the next day.
It seems like everyone on the Bulls was a head case. Somehow they won six titles.
He sat out BECAUSE Kukoc was the one the play was called for.
The Bulls traded Shawn Kemp for Pippen
this is like negative a billion leadership points
Phil’s decision makes sense because IIRC (and I think they show it at the beginning of the clip) Scottie got locked up the possession before that and turned the ball over without even getting a shot up. Of course, Scottie was humiliated that MJ was gone and Phil was going to make him stand there in front of the whole sports world and still defer to somebody else on the last possession. I believe the solution that other superstars employ, if they can’t just take the clipboard away and yell “absolutely not” as Lebron did, is to steal the inbounding pass and take the shot anyway. I guess Phil making Scottie inbound was a chess move to prevent this too.
Just finished reading Phil Jackon’s “Eleven Rings” book and this was discussed.
Bad for Pippen. Good for Kukoc.
It’s still wild to me that he didn’t swallow his pride when asked about this moment on the Last Dance. Him saying he’d do it all over again just makes him look like a bitter old man. He could have repaired this to a great extent. It’s kind of a shame that an incredible career and legacy has that kind of stain.
Wow… could you imagine if a player did that today? haha it would be insane
Not related but I had the same jacket as a 5 year old at the 1:22 mark. Never understood why my parents had me in that thing.
Obviously he was wrong in how he handled it but strictly strategically speaking I agree with his train of thought. If I’m not mistaken Jackson wanted him to inbound the ball which is really asinine when u consider the other players the had. Scottie actually gave cover for defense’s huge failure of allowing kukoc to catch the pass at the top of the key
Pippen has never looked comfortable or happy to me EVER. I’ve never seen an elite athlete who doesn’t seem at ease in his own skin. Pippen always looks to me like he’s racked by anxiety and self-doubt.
Scottie was my second favorite player during this time after Reggie. I was not fan of Pippen acting like this when it happened.
Scottie can talk trash all he wants about Jordan, but he pouted on the bench when Jackson drew up a play for Kukoc. No matter how great a player Scottie was, this moment is the reason he will always be in Jordan’s shadow.
Narratives are crazy nobody hardly ever getting Kobe refusing to shoot vs Phoenix or him during 39 times in a game when Shaq was on the team in an era where the pace was slower.
The last camera shot in full snow is the best XD
Pippen has always been sour because he was never anyone’s favorite player. Even though Klay was clearly second to Steph – lots of dubs fans had him as their favorite Warrior. Not Pippen tho – no Bulls fan ever had Scottie as their fav.