When Toni Kukoc had to face wrath of Scottie Pippen in absence of Michael Jordan

During the Chicago Bulls' heydays, the duo of Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan struck fear into the hearts of other NBA teams. Things only got better for the Chicago Bulls when they acquired Toni Kukoc, a 6' 11'' European player with a versatile skillset.

However, little did the world know that Pippen brutally outplayed Kukoc during his first practice session with the Bulls in the absence of Michael Jordan. In fact, Pippen's mauling of Kukoc was so bad that it left his teammates questioning the necessity of such an intense display against a player who had just made the jump to the NBA.

On Nov. 22, 1993, Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated released an article shedding some light on what Scottie Pippen's teammates thought about his treatment of Toni Kukoc.

"On his first day of preseason practice, Pippen took it upon himself to completely outplay newcomer Kukoc, just as Jordan had dismantled many a practice opponent before him," Taylor wrote.

"Privately, the other players weren't quite sure what to make of Pippen's display. Was he trying to imitate Jordan? Was he sending a message to Kukoc about whose team this was? Was he just trying to set an aggressive example for Kukoc and the other Bulls? And wasn't he risking damage."

Scottie Pippen had a reputation for struggling with leadership. Over the years, many have pointed to this encounter with Kukoc as a prime example of Pippen's shortcomings in that area.

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Scottie Pippen brands Michael Jordan a 'horrible player'

Recently, Scottie Pippen re-ignited his war of words with Michael Jordan, branding him a 'horrible player', noting how Jordan didn't taste success before he joined the Chicago Bulls.

"LeBron will be the greatest statistical guy to ever play the game of basketball, and there's no comparison to him. None." Pippen said as he praised LeBron James.

"So, does that make him the greatest player to ever play the game? I'll leave that out for debating 'cause I don't believe that there's a great player. Because our game's a team game, and one player can't do it."

Pippen added:

"I've seen Michael Jordan play before I came to play with the Bulls. You guys have seen him play. He was a horrible player. He was horrible to play with. He was all one-on-one; he's shooting bad shots, and all of a sudden, we become a team, and we start winning. Everybody forgot who he was."

Nevertheless, Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan had a significant amount of success together and helped raise the profile of the NBA on a global level.

As such, it doesn't matter whether Jordan was a selfish player or team-first guy, as the connection between him and Pippen ensured that the Chicago Bulls went down in history as one of the greatest teams assembled.