Scottie Pippen Reveals When He Was Kicked Off His High School Basketball Team

The Chicago Bulls legacy that Michael Jordan led them to, wouldn’t have been possible without another great player next to him. That’s right, it’s Scottie Pippen. Pippen is currently making headlines for his controversial statements about his former teammate, MJ and his ‘Last Dance’. However, a recent interview of him talking about his time in high school will help take everyone’s mind off of all the negativity.

This interview with Pippen not only revealed that his coach kicked him off his basketball team in high school, but the reason behind it was football. But how did he eventually get back on the team? That’s even more interesting.

Here’s how playing football got Scottie Pippen into major trouble

Pippen’s the talk of the town as of now. His debut memoir ‘Undefeated’, dug out a lot of unknown resentment towards Michael Jordan, and his documentary series ‘The Last Dance’. It’s all anybody can talk and write about. But his recent talk on ‘LIVE Kelly and Ryan’, was a nice change of pace as he reminisced his time back in high school. However, it was the moment he was kicked off the basketball team.

“I was a football player in my younger years in school, so I enjoyed playing football,” started off Pippen. “As I got into high school, I decided that I needed to focus more on what I wanted to do and that was to play basketball. But I wasn’t smart enough to realize that I needed to go through all season, workout, get strong, and do all of those things. So, I decided to be a part of the football team, be a part of the managers.”

“My coach wanted me in the offseason and I went a different route. So, when basketball season did start, he wouldn’t let me on the team. I actually had to run some bleachers for a few days, a few weeks. He wanted me to work my way back on the basketball team.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman & Other Teammates Michael Jordan Was Lucky to Have

His road to NBA stardom

From left, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Ron Harper and Toni Kukoc were big parts of Bulls teams that won three straight NBA titles from 1996 to 1998. Jordan and Pippen were members of the first “three-peat” team, which won titles from 1991 to 1993. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Before the six NBA champions with the Chicago Bulls, Pippen wasn’t the star everyone imagines him to be. As per SLAM, he was 6-foot-1, weighed 150 pounds, and as he mentioned, he chose to be an equipment manager for the football team, instead of putting the work in.

However, it was his senior year that was the game-changer. With two players quitting the team mixed with a growth spurt and losing weight, Pippen was his fit self. The rest is history. Looks like a great NBA player always finds his way back to the sport. Just like Michael Jordan always did, despite retiring twice.

READ MORE: Scottie Pippen Takes Multiple Shots at Michael Jordan and NBA Media Over Infamous Bulls Game

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