In 1994, the Chicago Bulls were pitted against the New York Knicks in a crucial playoff game. However, in the dying seconds of one match, the Bulls took a timeout, which resulted in something unthinkable. The Bulls really relied on Scottie Pippen during clutch moments, but instead, Pippen decided to sit out. This was a moment he was criticized for in the years to come.

The match was the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, and by then, the two teams had a fierce rivalry going on. The Knicks had a 2-0 lead in the first two games, and the third was crucial for the Bulls to win. They needed it to gain some momentum in the series.

So, the match was tied at 102-102, with only 1.8 seconds left in the last quarter. After that, the events that took place went down as one of the most infamous moments of Pippen’s NBA career. The Bulls had called for a timeout because coach Phil Jackson had the perfect plan to win the game. He wanted Pippen to inbound the ball to Toni Kukoc, so he could make the shot.

As soon as Pippen heard this, he refused to get back to the court and benched himself. Jackson had to call in for a second time out in which he replaced Pippen with Pete Myers. Jackson’s plan worked like magic. Myers did exactly as instructed, and Kukoc shot a buzzer-beater that led to the Bulls’ win.

The past is the past for Scottie Pippen

When the miniseries ‘Last Dance’ came out, which was about Michael Jordan‘s career and final season with the Bulls, it didn’t put Pippen in a very good light. It highlighted a lot of low points of his career. One of those was his refusal to get back in the game in 1994.

So, in an interview with ‘The Guardian, Pippen was asked about the documentary. “What was it like looking back at incidents from so long ago, like the time you refused to play and sat out the rest of a match?”

“I kind of let all that stuff go to the past,” stated Scottie. “I didn’t get behind the documentary and try to promote it, talk about any incident that might have happened in the documentary. Didn’t feel I needed to bring back things that happened 20 years ago.”

At the time, Jordan had just announced his retirement. So Pippen was the Bulls’ backbone. For him to do something like that came across as very selfish. However, Jordan came back from his retirement and they together led the Bulls to six championships in total. So, these achievements eventually overshadowed those disappointing moments.