Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen makes a surprising choice when offered to choose between $100m and ring without Michael Jordan.
The Chicago Bulls dynasty dominated the NBA like no other team during the 1990s. Led by the legendary Michael Jordan, the Bulls went to six NBA Finals in a span of eight years.
In those six runs to the finals, the Bulls won each time and finished the decade as six-time NBA champions.
While there were many key pieces on the Bulls alongside Jordan, Scottie Pippen was arguably the most important star on the team other than MJ. To date, most people say that Pippen was Robin to Jordan’s Batman.
The relationship between the two stars has deteriorated since the release of ESPN’s The Last Dance. Pippen has been critical of the docuseries as the ex-Bulls star believes he was depicted in a poor manner.
With that in mind, the 6x NBA champion was recently given a choice between earning an additional $100 million in his career or winning one ring without Jordan.
“Give me that $100 million. I got a gold medal ring without Michael, so that did mean a lot. Definitely would have loved the $100 million,” Pippen said instantly.
While Jordan was by far the best player during the Bulls dynasty, he had zero success in the playoffs before Pippen rose to stardom.
So it’s no surprise that Pippen would rather take a big payday over proving himself by winning one more ring.
Pippen enjoyed an 18-year stint in the NBA. During that time, he earned $109 million in salary. However, Pippen was famously underpaid by the Bulls.
Due to a lack of governing over cap rules, even star players could be underpaid in the old era and Pippen’s case is the perfect example.
In his first 11 seasons with the Bulls, Pippen earned just $22.2 million. Despite being the second-best player on the roster, Pippen’s contract was of a role player.
As a result, it’s no surprise that the Bulls legend would take an additional $100 million in a heartbeat if he was offered the chance.
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