The Chicago Bulls teammates, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, had a good relationship until the release of "The Last Dance" on Netflix. A year after the release of the docuseries, Pippen released a memoir which not only questioned Jordan's character, but also the very reason that Jordan released the series.

Pippen's memoir, "Unguarded," worked as an epilogue for the miniseries about the Bulls' dynasty. In the excerpt of the book, Pippen revealed that Jordan released the documentary in response to the growing GOAT debate between him and LeBron James.

"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 wrote in the excrept per Esquire.

LeBron had been catching up with Jordan in the GOAT debate since his second championship in 2013. But the 2016 NBA Finals, when LeBron and the Cavaliers recorded a comeback win against a 73-9 Warriors from a 3-1 deficit, James' stock skyrocketed.

The leading reason that Pippen released his memoir was different. In his memoir, 'Unguarded,' he wanted to give an alternate account of the 90s Bulls.

Scottie Pippen's memoir reveals his real issue with 'The Last Dance'

Anybody who watched 'The Last Dance' knows it was hard to ignore that the 10-episode-long series was more about Jordan than the Bulls team. However, Pippen had another issue with the series: the representation of him and his teammates.

"The final two episodes aired on May 17. Similar to the previous eight, they glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to my proud teammates and me," Pippen wrote in 'Unguarded.'

The final two episodes featured the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers and the 1998 NBA Finals against the Jazz. The final scene showed Jordan walking alone, leaving behind the game.

"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," Pippen added.

Jordan's production company, 'Jump 23,' was involved in the editorial process. The company had the final approval over the footage.

Pippen wasn't the only Bulls player who questioned the authenticity of the series. Horace Grant, who won three titles with Jordan, called it "BS in terms of the realness."

How true do you think Pippen claims that Jordan released the series in response to LeBron's growing stock in the GOAT debate?

Read more at Air Jordan Chronicles!

Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi