He was part of one of the greatest NBA basketball sides the world has ever seen, but six-time champion Scottie Pippen became an instant meme during a cringeworthy appearance during the NRL grand final.
The Australian National Basketball League paid the Bulls superstar $1.2million to promote the tip-off for the domestic league this week.
Pippen was part of the glittering Chicago Bulls roster than included Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Australian Luc Longley that won three NBA championships from 1996-98 at the height of the sport’s popularity.
During his trip to Australia, he appeared during both the AFL and NRL grand finals wearing an NBL shirt to promote the local league.
During the halftime break of the grand final between the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos, he was interviewed by the Channel Nine panel – and immediately slammed by fans for his lack of knowledge and enthusiasm.
Pippen did not seem overly thrilled to be at the NRL grand final with his lackluster responses turning him into an instant meme
Pippen got to re-unite with Australian Boomers champion Luc Longley who played with him at the Chicago Bulls, ensuring he promoted the NBL at the same time
‘Welcome to your first match of rugby league, what have you made of what you’ve seen so far?’ host James Bracey asked.
A non-plussed Pippen was smiling, but struggled to muster up any genuine enthusiasm.
‘It’s very exciting, I’m still trying to learn the game a little bit, it’s my second game in two days,’ he said, referring to his appearance at the AFL grand final on Saturday.
Melbourne, Queensland and Australian champion Cameron Smith gamely tried to press for a bit more.
‘Scottie you’ve taken in our game for the very first time, we’re actually taking our game to Las Vegas for the very first round at the start of next year, how do you think the Americans will take our sport?’ he asked.
Pippen had to think for a moment to come up with a diplomatic answer.
‘I think they will embrace it,’ he said with no great conviction.
‘We have a very rough sport in the NFL and I played a few years in basketball and ran into some pretty tough teams.
‘It’s a fun sport, a lot of contact, I enjoyed watching it.’
Channel Nine commentator and NRL champion Cameron Smith compared Penrith to the 1990s Chicago Bulls
Pippen and Jordan led the Bulls to a dynasty during the peak years of the NBA and basketball around the world
Smith then tried to align a potential Panthers three-peat with the famous Chicago three-peat of the 1990s.
‘What does it mean to be part of a franchise that wins three championships in a row?’ he asked.
‘It’s an amazing accomplishment,’ Pippen replied.
‘To put yourself in an opportunity to go for a third title is amazing within itself,’ Pippen replied.
‘I think it is something they’ve [Penrith] have embraced, they’ve made it to the championship game and we will see what happens.’
Footy fans were quick to latch onto the interview and create a meme out of it, asking what Scottie Pippen might think about a range of moments during the grand final.
‘When Brisbane scored just before halftime, I said to myself, I wonder what Scottie Pippen makes of the the try and how does he sees the second half playing out,’ one posted.
Others lashed Channel Nine for bothering with Pippen who clearly had no love or knowledge of rugby league.
‘As much as Scottie Pippen costs money: would have been better for Nine to call in one of the surviving players from the 81-82-83 Eels threepeat: Sterlo,’ one fan posted.
‘Having Scottie Pippen on the half time panel is like asking Cameron Smith his thoughts in the nbl gf series. Completely pointless,’ another fumed.
‘Scottie Pippen is a legend, but really, a 5 min interview at halftime with him, and asking his tip on who wins from here? It’s an #nrlgf . I reckon we can do better,’ posted another.
Penrith ultimately prevailed after overcoming a 16-point deficit to claim the first three-peat of the NRL era.
It remains unclear what Pippen thought of the second half.
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