Rich Paul Sparks Debate With Claim About Michael Jordan's Rings

LeBron James' longtime friend, Rich Paul, made a comment about Michael Jordan this week that has some NBA fans quite heated.

During the latest edition of his "Game Over" podcast, Paul discussed Jordan's legacy with former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and former ESPN personality Max Kellerman. He made the claim that Scottie Pippen's rings with the Chicago Bulls are just as impactful as Jordan's.

"I think Scottie's rings are the same as Michael Jordan's," said Paul. "He was the most impactful player on the team. If you unplug Scottie Pippen off that team, Jordan is 0-for-6."

Technically, there's no real way of determining whose championship rings hold more weight. At the end of the day though, Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest of all time. As good as Pippen was, he was never in that conversation.

Of course, NBA fans had a lot to say about Paul's comment.

"Scottie was basically Kawhi with playmaking. You're not just "replacing" him with any all-star. It's a reason the Bulls won 55 and went to the conf finals w/o MJ. 0-6 is a stretch tho lol. MJ still getting 2-3 rings," one person wrote on X.

"Rich Paul tries to pump Scottie up to the best defender of his era ... and yes, Scottie was a great defender with ZERO DPOYs and Jordan has one," a second person pointed out. "Make it make sense."

"During the ‘91 Playoffs Jordan scored 161 more points & had 43 more assists than Scottie Pippen, but Pippen led Jordan in turnovers by 12," a social media user wrote.

"LeBron's merits can't stand on their own. Someone must be tore down for LeBron to be great," another person argued. "MJ fans can reel off a list of things that make MJ the GOAT. LeBron fans can never just speak on LeBron. It's always about why someone else isn't great."

It wasn't always smooth sailing for Jordan and Pippen.

Despite all their success on the hardwood, Jordan and Pippen didn't exactly see eye-to-eye during their time in Chicago. And while there's no denying their greatness as a duo, their connection is no longer there.

"I just think Michael is a very difficult person to deal with," Pippen said. "I played with him for years so I know that when it's time for you to move in you direction, then go in your direction. Don't sit there and try to procrastinate or stretch it that the relationship is not where it was or not what it used to be, and it's never going to be the same. So why try and make something out of nothing? Or try to make something that was never there."

Pippen revealed in 2025 that he went years without having any communication with Jordan.

"Great teammate but we just never were great friends," Pippen declared. 

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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 10:27 AM.