![]() ![]() Olajuwon would eventually return as the Rockets finished fourth in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record, and qualified the playoffs as the #8 seed in the Western Conference. ![]() 500, showing their age and the wear and tear of long playoff runs as they played mediocre basketball all season, holding a 22–24 record at the All-Star break. However, as the season progressed, Hakeem Olajuwon went down with a knee injury and only played just 47 games, as the Rockets began to slip under. The team traveled to Mexico City, Mexico, where they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 108–106 on December 6, 1997, which was the first NBA regular season game played in Mexico. After a slow 3–5 start to the season, the Rockets went on a nine-game winning streak winning 12 of their first 17 games. The 1997–98 NBA season was the Rockets' 31st season in the National Basketball Association, and 27th season in Houston. Pippen’s comments on his media tour may draw attention to his book, but they’re also clearly missing some context related to his role there.NBA professional basketball team season 1997–98 Houston Rockets season It’s also worth noting that teammates on the ’99 Rockets strongly took Barkley’s side in the dispute and remain in his camp, to this day. Barkley never had the luxury of having a teammate of that caliber, and certainly not in 1999 - when Pippen averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in 40.2 minutes per game with the Rockets after signing a maximum-salary contract in the offseason. However, all of those six were earned playing alongside Michael Jordan, who is viewed by most as being the best player in NBA history. Pippen does own six championship rings, compared to zero for Barkley. Listen to our Town Hall with Scottie Pippen here: "Charles wasn't as dedicated as I thought he would be." explains to how it just didn't work out in Houston with Charles Barkley. I ended up in Portland with a younger team, a hungrier team, and players that I could kind of stand behind, and not have to stand out front anymore. Me, myself, I had six (championships), so it wasn’t really about me trying to go out of my way to win a championship. I went to Houston to try and help Charles Barkley win a championship, and I felt that his dedication wasn’t there, once I got there. I didn’t realize Charles wasn’t as dedicated as I thought he would be. I hadn’t realized how much Hakeem had diminished in the game, I’ll be honest. Coming off a second back surgery, I needed a little more youth around me. I felt that this wasn’t a good fit for me. We just didn’t have the right chemistry, and we were aging a little bit. I thought I was joining a super team, to some degree, but it just didn’t work out. In hindsight, here’s how Pippen remembers it: After the season, Pippen got into a war of words with Barkley and effectively forced a trade to Portland, ending his Houston tenure after only one abbreviated season. ![]() They were then booted from the playoffs in the first round. While much of his criticism has targeted longtime teammate Michael Jordan, the Houston Rockets managed to catch a stray shot, as well, during Pippen’s recent interview with Frank Isola on Sirius XM NBA Radio.Īfter Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls following the 1997-98 season, Pippen was a free agent and moved to Houston to join forces with two other Hall of Famers: Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley.īut the 1999 Rockets went 31-19 in a lockout-shortened regular season, placing them No. Scottie Pippen isn’t making many friends from the promotional media tour accompanying the release of his new book, “Unguarded.”
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