Scottie Pippen says Michael Jordan was a horrible player before he changed his game

NBA legend Scottie Pippen has recently offered a provocative perspective on the formative years of his iconic partnership with Michael Jordan, suggesting that Jordan's initial approach to the game was centered more on individual achievement than team victory. Pippen's assessment challenges the conventional narrative of the Chicago Bulls dynasty's origins.

According to Pippen, before he joined the Bulls in 1987, Michael Jordan was a player who prioritized scoring above all else. Pippen was blunt in his description, stating, "I seen Michael Jordan play before I came to the Bulls; he was a horrible player. He was horrible to play with. He was all one-on-one. He's shooting bad shots..." Pippen contends that Jordan's initial desire was to elevate the team entirely by himself.

Contrast this with Jordan's undeniable individual brilliance during his early seasons before Pippen arrived (e.g., 37.1 points per game in 1986–87). Despite his scoring prowess, the Bulls were not a successful team during this period, reportedly never winning more than 38 games in Jordan's first three seasons and being repeatedly eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, including sweeps by Larry Bird's Celtics. During this period, Jordan was a celebrated superstar but, as Pippen frames it, also the league's most isolated one.

Pippen's arrival in 1987 brought a new dynamic, improving tempo and ball movement, but the most significant change is attributed primarily to the coaching transition. The transformation Pippen spoke of took hold in the late 1980s when Phil Jackson replaced Doug Collins in 1989. According to Pippen, before Jackson, "winning wasn't at the top of [Jordan's] category; it was scoring, going after scoring titles."

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Jackson's implementation of the triangle offense introduced a new philosophy focused on movement, trust, spacing, and sacrifice. Under this system, while Jordan still averaged over 30 points per game during the Bulls' first three-peat era (1990-1993), his usage rate reportedly dipped slightly, and his efficiency "skyrocketed." Critically, the team became a "lethal" force, sharing the offensive load more evenly.

Pippen's core argument is that this evolution in Jordan's approach was not a result of natural maturity or his own desire for winning. Instead, Pippen asserts it was "forced," nudged along by the new coaching staff, the structure of the triangle offense, and the presence of teammates like himself who contributed to a more cohesive team approach.

By the time the Bulls completed their first three-peat in 1993, Jordan had undeniably transformed into a winner, accumulating championships alongside his scoring titles. However, Pippen suggests that this crucial transformation began not solely with Jordan's inherent will but was catalyzed by the circumstances and the strategic changes implemented around him.