Chapter 683 - 58 Teammates

Pippen still remembers the first time he met Michael Jordan.

It was in the summer of 1987, in the suburbs of Deerfield, a satellite city of Chicago, at the Multiplex training center. Pippen walked into the training field with then Bulls head coach Doug Collins.

Doug Collins introduced Pippen to the Bulls players who were training, saying this was the team’s rookie and he wanted to greet everyone.

At that time, there were three people in the gym, one was Jordan, and the other two were Pete Miles and Sedale Threatt; Pippen knew Pete Miles, who came from Little Rock University in Arkansas.

Pippen had participated in the summer league in Little Rock with him.

Just as Pippen was about to greet Miles, he suddenly heard Jordan’s voice.

He said: "Oh Xie Te, we’ve got another boy from Arkansas."

His words were full of irony and disdain, making Pippen feel very awkward, being an introverted, silent Southern boy at that time.

He had long heard of Jordan’s big name, knowing how dazzling this North Carolina genius was nationwide and how invincible he was in the NBA.

At that moment, Pippen didn’t know how to respond, he froze, standing there helplessly until Doug Collins came over and patted him, gesturing him to go to the locker room to change his clothes, which sort of rescued him from this situation.

Since then, Jordan became a shadow over Pippen, Jordan’s voice often appeared in Pippen’s dreams, just like the first time they spoke, disturbing Pippen’s peace.

Later, Pippen earned Jordan’s approval through his performance on the court, they often confronted each other in training, and their cooperation on the court grew increasingly tacit.

Pippen learned a lot from Jordan; his skills improved rapidly, and Jordan also began to respect this country boy from Arkansas, considering him a good helper.

But one thing was established from the beginning and could not be changed: Pippen did not like Jordan.

Playing in the NBA is a job at the end of the day, and many people do not like their colleagues.

Even if they cooperate seamlessly at work, help each other progress, but once they leave the workplace and return to their lives, there may be no interaction, or even dislike for each other.

Pippen and Jordan did not get to the point of mutual hatred, but their relationship off the court was very ordinary.

Jordan was from a middle-class family; Pippen was a country boy, and a gap formed between them from their first meeting, which could never truly be bridged.

In the Bulls, Jordan was the sole core, the Sun around which everyone else had to revolve; Pippen knew he could only be the moon, but he harbored a heart of discontent.

Especially seeing Drexler leave Portland in the summer of 1988 for Miami to become the boss of the Heat, Pippen always had a restless feeling deep inside.

After all, Drexler had already achieved everything in Portland, three championships in hand, going to Miami for a big contract and a regret-free life.

Pippen, on the other hand, still had nothing; he needed championships and an outstanding performance to secure a long-term contract for himself.

So, he could only bury his discontent with Jordan deep in his heart, following Jordan’s lead on and off the court.

Only in certain special moments would his resistance surface, bubbling up on the calm waters.

For example, when the Bulls were playing against the Portland Trail Blazers, and Jordan was facing Ah Gan.

Pippen knew well, there were only three or four people in the league capable of breaking Jordan’s defense.

Bird, Thomas, Magic Johnson.

Among them, Bird was getting older, his condition increasingly unstable.

Magic Johnson was in the Western Conference and had always been on good terms with Jordan.

Isiah Thomas was someone Jordan hated, the Pistons were stronger than the Bulls, but in terms of individual capability, Jordan always outperformed Thomas when playing the Pistons.

Only Ah Gan, who could steadily suppress Jordan in all respects, only he could talk down to Jordan with a condescending attitude when facing him.

Of course, Pippen knew that Jordan and Ah Gan had a very good personal relationship off the court, but on the court, they were like fire and water, and every time Gan Guoyang would suppress Jordan, truly the number one Jordan-stopper in the league.

Having such a "stalwart" nemesis naturally stirred Pippen.

Watching Gan Guoyang truly move to the small forward position in the second half, hitting shot after shot like artillery, evening the score.

Pippen thought to himself, Michael, where is all that boasting from before the game? You said if Ah Gan went outside, you’d be responsible for guarding him?

Are you just going to talk big, and I do all the work? Is this how you play the boss?

So during a timeout, Pippen blurted out, "Michael, it’s your turn to guard Ah Gan."

On the bench, the Bulls players, including Jordan, were stunned.

Everyone looked at Pippen, and Pippen realized he had misspoken.

The big talk from the boss before the game, as a subordinate, how could you mention it casually?

The boss can boast if he succeeds, only then can you freely praise him in conversation.

If it doesn’t succeed, or there’s no hope of success, you should forget it.

Pippen just couldn’t hold it in, putting Jordan in an awkward position.

Jordan’s defense against tall, power forwards has always been mediocre.

He was originally a guard, his height of 6 feet 6 inches allowed him to play small forward, but without much advantage.

Jordan’s dynamic quality is extremely strong, arguably among the top historically in the NBA.

The static is very good as well, but relatively, it falls a bit short, at least compared to Pippen.

Therefore, Pippen was more suited to mismatch defense against bigger inside players, while Jordan was more for help defense, secondary defense, and backdoor steals.