INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
This unflinching "master class" (The New York Times) of a memoir
from two-time Olympic gold medalist and NBA Hall of Famer reveals how
Scottie Pippen, the youngest of twelve, overcame two family tragedies
and universal disregard by college scouts to become an essential
component of the greatest basketball dynasty of the last fifty years.
Scottie Pippen has been called one of the greatest NBA players for good
reason.
Simply put, without Pippen, there are no championship banners--let alone
six--hanging from the United Center rafters. There's no Last Dance
documentary. There's no "Michael Jordan" as we know him. The 1990s
Chicago Bulls teams would not exist as we know them.
So how did the youngest of twelve go from growing up poor in the small
town of Hamburg, Arkansas, enduring two family tragedies along the way,
to become a revered NBA legend? How did the scrawny teen, overlooked by
every major collegiate basketball program, go on to become the fifth
overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft? And, perhaps most compelling, how
did Pippen set aside his ego (and his own limitless professional
ceiling) in order for the Bulls to become the most dominant basketball
dynasty of the last half century?
In Unguarded, the six-time champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist
finally opens up to offer pointed and transparent takes on Michael
Jordan, Phil Jackson, and Dennis Rodman, among others. Pippen details
how he cringed at being labeled Jordan's sidekick, and discusses how
he could have (and should have) received more respect from the Bulls'
management and the media.
Pippen reveals never-before-told stories about some of the most famous
games in league history, including the 1994 playoff game against the New
York Knicks when he took himself out with 1.8 seconds to go. He
discusses what it was like dealing with Jordan on a day-to-day basis,
while serving as the facilitator for the offense and the anchor for the
defense.
Pippen is finally giving millions of adoring basketball fans what they
crave; an unvarnished, "closely observed, and uncommonly modest"
(Kirkus Reviews) look into his life and role within one of the
greatest, most popular teams of all time.
