Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen ‘s lone season with the Houston Rockets ended ugly. Following a first-round exit to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1999 playoffs, the two got into a war of words before Pippen was eventually traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Barkley, who joined the Rockets to chase a ring, wasn’t happy the six-time NBA champion left him and Hakeem Olajuwon after he had taken a pay cut for the team to sign the former Chicago Bull in the first place. Pippen’s trade request prompted a public warfare between the two, with Charles blasting his teammate, claiming he and everyone else involved had been blindsided by his decision.
Barkley also reportedly said Scottie hadn’t told him personally that he wanted to leave Houston. That lie, according to Pip, was the final nail in the coffin of their relationship.
“He turned around and lied and said I didn’t tell him when I had spent a week in Hawaii with him,” Pippen said . “Other NBA guys, like Jason Kidd, were there. We all went out to play golf one day, and I spoke to Charles about it. Then he gets back to Houston and starts that he’d spent a week and I hadn’t said anything. I had.”