Review of "Unguarded"

While I cannot call myself a fan of the Chicago Bulls' run of championships in the 1990's, I did enjoy watching them.  So when I saw that Scottie Pippen has written his memoir, I wanted to pick up a copy, but waited a little while for the hype to die down and see what other readers thought.  Those reviews didn't affect my decision - still picked it up and I am glad I did.  Here is my review of "Unguarded"

Title/Author: “Unguarded” by Scottie Pippen

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: To state the obvious, when the Chicago Bulls won six NBA titles in eight years during the 1990’s, they were led by one of the greatest players in the history of the game, Michael Jordan.  However, there was also another Hall of Fame player on those teams who at times felt like he was not given his proper due.  In this memoir, Scottie Pippen gets to tell his version of the Bulls’ championship years as well as other stories from his life and career.

This book may come across to some readers as whining, complaining or bitterness because of Pippen’s criticism of several people. These include the general manager of the Bulls during that time, Jerry Krause; his first coach in Chicago Doug Collins and his future teammate in Houston Charles Barkley. There is also criticism of Jordan – that is how the book starts out with Pippen’s account of how he felt upon the airing of the documentary “The Last Dance” in April 2020. It is true that Pippen did feel that the team and his teammates slighted him many times, on and off the court. Because he did not deny this and instead explained why he was upset about certain issues was something I liked about the book and Pippen’s stories.

This does not necessarily mean that I would agree with everything he said or that because of his explanation I would change my opinion of what he did, but the honesty is refreshing.  He doesn’t care whether one agrees or disagrees with him, whether they like it or loathe it, he just tells his version. This does clarify some things, most notably his decision to sit on the bench instead of inbound the ball with 1.8 seconds left in a 1994 playoff game.  It is something that so many remember about Pippen (which is a shame because he was so much better than this one incident) that he dedicated an entire chapter of the book on this, titles “1.8 Seconds.”  Just like the rest of the book, he simply describes his version and why he did what he did.  Let the reader draw their own conclusion.

His relationship with Jordan is also explained honestly, in Pippen’s viewpoint. Yes, they did not always come across as the best of friends, but to call them enemies would not be accurate, at least according to Pippen. His explanation is basically that Jordan is his own person and so is Pippen. There was respect, even with the anger Pippen felt after “The Last Dance” but there was never any overt hostility.

One other aspect of this book I really liked was his writing about the important games with the Bulls, especially those in their playoff runs.  He mixes play-by-play accounts with his vision of the game on the court and some of the more memorable occurrences.  One story that I thought would generate more text but was really kept short was Pippen’s famous remark to Utah Jazz great Karl Malone in the NBA Finals that the “Mailman” (Malone’s nickname) doesn’t deliver and that made Malone miss a key free throw.  He downplays that event but does play up other key moments whether he was involved or another teammate.

Pippen does write about other teammates as well, such as Dennis Rodman, Horace Grant and Charles Oakley.  He is just as frank with his opinions of them as he is very grateful for those who helped him get to the NBA.  He speaks reverently about his parents, his high school and college coaches (even if one of them was very tough on him) and others who helped steer him on his path to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

This book won’t change one’s mind about Pippen whether a reader liked him or not, or felt that he would complain too much or that he was not given his proper respect for his role in the Bulls dynasty.  Regardless, if one is a fan of the Bulls dynasty or of professional basketball at that time, this is an excellent read.

Link: Amazon.com: Unguarded eBook : Pippen, Scottie: Kindle Store