Michael Jordan’s praise for Scottie Pippen came with a catch: ‘He never told me’

In his memoir "Unguarded," Scottie Pippen revealed that Michael Jordan considered him the best all-around player on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team. However, Jordan did not deliver the high praise directly to Pippen. Instead, Jordan shared his assessment with Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson during training camp in the fall of 1992, and Pippen only learned about the compliment years later.

Pippen noted that Jordan acknowledged Pippen occasionally outplayed him during their run to the gold medal in Barcelona. Despite winning six NBA championships together with the Bulls, Pippen explained that he and Jordan were never close away from basketball, though Jordan's praise still carried significant personal value.