Scottie Pippen Blasts Michael Jordan for Having Editorial Control of ESPN’s The Last Dance: ‘I Was Nothing More Than a Prop’

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NBA Hall-of-Famer Scottie Pippen confirmed he was upset with Michael Jordan after The Last Dance documentary was released by ESPN in 2020. Seventeen months later, Pippen is continuing to lash out at Jordan over the issue.

Next week, Pippen’s memoir Unguarded will finally be released after months of promotion. Ahead of its release, GQ shared an excerpt from the book where Pippen sounded off on Jordan, specifically targeting his ex-teammate for having editorial control over The Last Dance.

“They glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates,” Pippen wrote of the series. “Michael deserved a large portion of the blame. The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn’t have been released otherwise. He was the leading man and the director.”

“Michael was determined to prove to the current generation of fans that he was larger-than-life during his day—and still larger than LeBron James, the player many consider his equal, if not superior,” Pippen added. “I was nothing more than a prop. His ‘best teammate of all time,’ he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried.”

Jordan’s editorial control did make it a documentary being told through his eyes, rather than having an unbiased point of view. But without Jordan, the doc would have been useless. Jordan’s participation in the 10-episode series was the most important thing, and unfortunately, editorial control was a trade-off.

Pippen also alleged Jordan was the only Bulls player to receive compensation for the documentary, earning a whopping $10 million. Last year, Jordan announced he was donating proceeds from The Last Dance to the non-profit organization Friends of the Children and to help feed the hungry at Thanksgiving.