Scottie Pippen's ex-teammate slams 'glorified second option' remark from Gilbert Arenas

Scottie Pippen recently made headlines for his comments about LeBron James in the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) conversation. Gilbert Arenas then responded by blasting the Chicago Bulls legend, calling him a "glorified second option," before one of Pippen's former teammates stepped in.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Arenas shared a clip from his "Gil's Arena" podcast, where he expressed disbelief that someone like the legendary forward would use team accolades to compare himself to "King James."

After the former Washington Wizards guard called Pippen a "glorified second option," former Bulls guard Ron Harper demanded respect for his teammate.

"Put some respect on Pip name now!!!!" Harper tweeted.

It all started when Scottie Pippen was a guest on the "Patrick Bet-David" podcast. The host asked the six-time NBA champion about the GOAT conversation, which led Pippen to claim that he’s better than LeBron James.

"I'm speaking from a team standpoint," Pippen said. "I look at basketball from a team standpoint. My success as a team is more successful than LeBron. I got six rings."

Pippen also didn't forget about his beef with Michael Jordan, expressing his preference for Magic Johnson, whom he believes is the greatest ever. He explained that Johnson’s leadership with the Los Angeles Lakers, including his rookie performance in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, is undeniable.

"Magic Johnson to me is a bigger GOAT than anybody because of how he led, how he brought a whole team, how when the greatest scorer in the game, Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) was not there," Pippen said. "And him as a rookie steps in and plays a position that no one even knew he could play. That's transcending what you can do as a player."

Gilbert Arenas was not the only basketball personality to question Pippen’s remarks. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith also went off on the Chicago Bulls legend, pointing out his infamous "migraine game" in the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals.

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Carmelo Anthony responds to Scottie Pippen, defends Michael Jordan and LeBron James

Carmelo Anthony responds to Scottie Pippen, defends Michael Jordan and LeBron James. (Photo: IMAGN)

Another player to defend Michael Jordan and LeBron James was Carmelo Anthony, who addressed Scottie Pippen's comments on his "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast. Anthony made it clear he wouldn't tolerate any slander against Jordan, who won six NBA championships with Pippen.

"Don't take that away from the guard now, after all these years, whatever feelings you feel about him," Anthony said. "Like, that is who it is. That's MJ, like, you know what time it is with that."

Anthony also added that Pippen should leave both Jordan and LeBron alone, stating he could have praised Magic Johnson without tarnishing the legacies of the two "GOATs."