Gilbert Arenas defends Michael Jordan from "bad teammate" reputation

"Was Kobe a bad teammate because he didn't pass the ball to Smush Parker and Chris Mihm?"

© Anne Ryan-USA TODAY

Michael Jordan’s greatness lay in his ability to create plays for himself and his teammates, helping to elevate the game of those around him. But while His Airness made his teammates better on the court, he wasn’t necessarily the best teammate. Abrasive and, at times, aggressive, history shows that MJ was not always the easiest teammate to get along with, even if he did win six championships with the Bulls.

However, in a recent podcast, former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas came to Jordan’s defense against comments made by Jordan’s former teammate and friend, Scottie Pippen, who remarked that he was horrible to play with.

Bad teammate?

The relationship between Jordan and Pippen has become strained in recent years. It certainly didn’t help that Pippen labeled Jordan a “horrible player” during an appearance on Stacey King’s podcast earlier this year.

“I’ve seen Michael Jordan play before I came to the Bulls. You guys have seen him play. He was a horrible player. He was horrible to play with. It was all 1-on-1, shooting bad shots,” Pippen said.

Arenas came to Jordan’s defense, saying the reason why the latter had to take control of the offense was because of the lack of quality players around him. During Pippen’s rookie season in 1988 wherein Jordan averaged 35 points on 24 shots per night, he had teammates like Rory Sparrow, Sam Vincent, and Elston Turner, who were hardly household names.

“Was Kobe a bad teammate because he didn't pass the ball to Smush Parker and Chris Mihm?” Arenas said.

“So how the fu** is Michael Jordan a bad teammate 'cause he got the same sorry a** players on his team? He had the same sorry a** players on his team in the first seven years. The reason he averaged 37. Do you know the players that he had on his team when he first got in the league? The fact that he got to average 37.”

Off-court issues

Aside from the lack of production on the floor, Arenas also contended that Jordan had the misfortune of dealing with teammates who weren’t exactly focused on the game.

“Is a bad teammate sitting in…there's five of you sittin' in the room smoking dope? Is that the bad teammate? You all preparing for the game, five or six teammates in the room smoking dope. Is that the bad teammate? Or is the bad teammate the guy who's working out, not passing those six dope heads the ball? Which one is the bad teammate?" added Arenas.

Bro, Gilbert Arenas loses his mind after he heard Rashad McCants call Michael Jordan a bad teammate😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/RkTeZJ7MG7

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 16, 2023

Michael Jordan admits that the Chicago Bulls would not have won eight straight NBA titles