Phoenix Suns color analyst Eddie A. Johnson took a swipe at Michael Jordan fans on Monday after Scottie Pippen weighed in on the ongoing "greatest of all time" (GOAT) debate. Pippen ranked himself ahead of LeBron James, prompting Johnson to sarcastically back the claim as a way to mock Jordan's loyal supporters.
Sharing his thoughts on X, formerly known as Twitter, Johnson pointed out that Pippen's justification for placing himself above James is the exact same logic that Jordan fans use to secure Jordan's status at the top of the NBA hierarchy. "Why shouldn’t Scottie not claim he is the GOAT. He’s 6-0 too and that seems to be the only fight left against LBJ. MJ fans are not happy today," Johnson wrote.
Johnson's social media post was a direct reaction to a resurfaced quote from Pippen, which was highlighted in a graphic shared by Bleacher Report on Monday. "I have 6 rings," Pippen's quote read. "You want individual accolades or championships? Because I didn't chase mine." The Chicago Bulls legend originally made these comments during an appearance on the PBD Podcast in early 2025.
During that podcast appearance, Pippen pointed to his two-way dominance and extensive personal accolades to support his standing among the game's elite. "The reason why I say stuff like that is that when you play the game the way that I played it, you play on both ends," Pippen said. "Why can't I say that? Look at the stats; I got six rings too. Look at my accolades. I got Defensive Player, All-NBA, so playing the game the right way and winning mean something to me, and it meant a lot to me."
While Pippen's reasoning was meant to justify his own place in the GOAT conversation, it directly undermined one of the core arguments Jordan fans use for their case. Johnson seized on this contradiction to tease Jordan's fanbase. Interestingly, Pippen also offered a different perspective during the same 2025 podcast appearance, arguing at the 59:08 timestamp that individual GOAT titles do not belong in team sports. "Again, team sports to me there's no goat there's great teams, but as an individual you got to go to individual sports," Pippen remarked, noting that basketball teams cannot rely solely on a single player.
