Toni Kukoc On Michael Jordan And Scottie Pippen's Relationship: 'He Still Loves Him And Respects Him'

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen formed one of the greatest duos in NBA history, but all is certainly not well between them now. Pippen has taken quite a few public shots at Jordan in recent years and their former teammate Toni Kukoc spoke about their relationship during an interview with Sport Klub.

"Three years ago he worked with the Bulls, he came at a few games," Kukoc said. "I don't want to go deep into what happened, media work in that way. I didn't see him for a long time.

"I'm sorry because of the problems in the relationship between him and Michael," Kukoc stated. "With Michael, I'm talking about, he still loves him (Pippen), respects him, and always mentions him as someone without whom he would never have any huge success, like he did it.

"It is sad, it is tough for me to see him (Pippen) in this condition," Kukoc continued. "He changes his opinion from time to time about Michael, LeBron, and about other people. He called Phil Jackson a racist because he gave me to shot a clutch shot it's not something... I don't know... That is not a Scottie from our team when we played. He didn't have any problem to pass the ball.

"I always say Michael Jordan is the best, and Michael is the greatest of all time but if you play good and know how to play basketball, then Scottie is the best teammate that you can ever have," Kukoc concluded."

I do find it quite interesting that Kukoc claims Jordan still loves Pippen and has respect for him. I thought the bridge had completely been burned down, but that might not necessarily be the case.

The relationship between the two former teammates really fell apart after The Last Dance documentary came out. Pippen was not happy with how he was portrayed in it and he made that crystal clear.

A lot of shots have been fired since then, with the most notable one perhaps being when Pippen called Jordan a horrible player last year. It was a shocking comment and I don't think deep down he really believed what he was saying was true. 

Then earlier this year, Pippen said Jordan is the GOAT. As Kukoc pointed out, he seems to change his tune from time to time. I hope a day comes when Jordan and Pippen are on good terms again, but I am not too optimistic about it.

Toni Kukoc Believes Michael Jordan Is The GOAT

While Pippen has had issues with MJ, Kukoc has generally been quite complimentary toward him. Earlier this year, Kukoc hailed Jordan as the GOAT.

"Jordan is the best basketball player of all time. There is nothing that can be compared to him. Pippen is a great player. He did a lot of work. I'm sorry to see the state he's in today. Steve Kerr is probably the best "three-pointer" in history.

"When you don't have anyone to pass the ball to, you pass it to Kerr and he hits a 3-pointer. What can I say about Rodman? He got angry with the opposing players when they didn't play well enough, so after the game, he rode that exercise bike to tire himself out.

"Even Jordan needed a team to win rings, and the team needed a coach. I think only Phil Jackson could have worked with that group."

Kukoc also ensured he gave everyone on that Chicago Bulls team the respect they deserved for all that success in the 1990s. While Jordan was undoubtedly the biggest reason the franchise won six championships, he didn't do it by himself.