Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP for the fifth time in his career after the Chicago Bulls won the 1997 NBA championship. Jordan not only led the Bulls in scoring in the championship series at 32.3 points per game but also was his team’s best passer with 6.0 assists per game.
MJ also scored a game-high 39 points in the series-clinching Game 6, so it was no surprise that the MVP trophy went to him again. But during the post-game interviews, Jordan did not forget to pay tribute to his ever-reliable sidekick Scottie Pippen and even declared that he would ‘share’ the Finals MVP award with him.
“You know, when I was here before I retired, I overshadowed Scottie a lot, you know, and he didn’t get the recognition that he truly, truly deserved,” Jordan said during the post-game press conference. “He’s matured since I’ve been around, and when I stepped away, he matured even more because he understood what I was shielding him from. You know, the pressure and the press and the expectations of being a star.”
Mike literally shared his Finals MVP award with Scottie
The Bulls had become Pippen’s team in 1993 when Jordan abruptly retired to pursue his baseball dreams. But when Mike returned the following year, he took back the custodianship of the team and put Pip in the backseat again.
Just as he did during their three-peat from 1991 to 1993, Pippen provided Jordan with the needed scoring help while doing the other things on the floor extremely well, predominantly on defense. In the 1997 NBA Finals, Scottie averaged 20.0 points, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.8 blocks, and a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game.
After paying tribute to Pippen, Jordan then reiterated what he had said to Ahmad Rashad earlier in court.
“When I won the MVP and I will hold true to my word, I will take the trophy. He can have the car. I’m a make sure he gets the car because he’s like a little brother to me… That’s what brothers do, we share our success and that’s what I’m doing to him. I just want the trophy. I got enough cars, he can have the Nissan,” added Mike.
Mike also lobbied for Scottie to get a better deal
Aside from giving away the car, MJ went on to talk about Pippen’s contract with the Bulls. Pip had been griping about his deal ever since Toni Kukoc arrived. Michael had always maintained that Scottie was grossly underpaid and commented that his iconic teammate deserved a better deal.
“He’s prospered and moved along, and you know, from a financial standpoint, from a contract standpoint, he locked in. And he’s very deserving of the same $30 million I get in the next coming years. He’s very deserving of the same contract because he put forth the effort every single night,” continued MJ.
Unfortunately, Pippen never got that big contract from the Bulls. Instead, he was traded to the Houston Rockets after the Bulls won their sixth championship in 1998. With Pippen and head coach Phil Jackson gone, Jordan retired while at the top of his game. Many now wonder what it would have been like if the Bulls had not broken up the band that could have won more championships after 1998.
