National Basketball Association

Malone snubs Jordan for Pippen?

Published Jun. 5, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

Sam Gardner

Karl Malone and Michael Jordan were teammates on the 1992 Dream Team, both are Hall of Famers considered to be among the best to ever play in the NBA, and Jordan’s Chicago Bulls bested Malone’s Utah Jazz in not one, but two NBA Finals in the 1990s.

So one would think there is probably a degree of mutual respect between the two greats.

But in an interview Tuesday, the Mailman snubbed His Airness, leaving him out when asked by Dan Patrick about which basketball greats he would include in his all-time starting five — instead opting to go with longtime Jazz teammate John Stockton, Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James and Jordan's Bulls sidekick Scottie Pippen.

The snub of Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, came as a shock, of course — but it probably shouldn’t have been that surprising, given that Malone said the same thing last year when asked the same question.

This time, Malone defended his selection by noting that, “Scottie Pippen led the team in every statistical category when he was there without Michael Jordan,” which is like saying sausage is the best breakfast side dish when there’s no bacon in the fridge.

In any case, Malone seemed to have changed his tune by Wednesday morning, when he backtracked on his statements, both on SportsCenter and via a pair of tweets sent out from his account:

But knowing Jordan, who is one of the most competitive men the sports world has ever seen, it’ll take more than a public mea culpa to make him forget what Malone originally said, and he’ll surely get him back eventually.

But in the meantime, he’ll be busy somewhere counting his rings.