Hated rivals of Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen: Larry Johnson
Among the most underrated rivalries between any two players of the Bulls and Knicks in the 1990s was between two-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year forward Larry Johnson and Pippen. The seven-time All-Star and six-time NBA Champion Pippen definitely didn’t get along with Johnson at any point of his career.
The story of the beef between Johnson and Pippen almost feels like one that Jordan had against any player that he would eventually roast on the court. Johnson tried to disrespect Pippen when he was a member of the Knicks in the early 1990s. And it didn’t take long for Pippen to do the same thing that Jordan did to a number of his opponents he felt disrespected by.
Johnson always seemed to take it upon himself to mess with Pippen when the two met on the court in the 1990s. At one point, Johnson stated that Pippen “needs to shut his mouth” and that he is a “bum”. That was not really a smart thing for Johnson to do, as Pippen would pretty constantly roast the Knicks, and him in particular, throughout the rest of the 1990s.
Johnson was never at his best when he was a member of the Knicks. Both of the All-Star nods that Johnson got in his playing days in the NBA came when he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets in the early-to-mid 1990s. The downfall of his career started with the Knicks.
This rivalry even carried over to when Pippen was a member of the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers in the late 1990s/early 2000s.