Horace Grant Rips Scottie Pippen For Jordan/LeBron Comparison

In the strange controversy that erupted Friday over Scottie Pippen saying LeBron James may be a better basketball player than Michael Jordan, something that will surprise people who followed the 1990s Bulls has happened: Horace Grant has Jordan's back.

Grant, who won three titles with the Bulls before leaving for Orlando, didn't always see eye-to-eye with Jordan personally. But he still recognizes Jordan's greatness, and he questions what Pippen was thinking when he said "LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game."

"Wow," Grant said in a radio interview. "Pippen's my man, and we'll always be close, but I totally disagree. LeBron is going to be one of the top players to ever play the game, but Michael Jeffrey Jordan -- who we bumped heads at times -- is I think, the best basketball player I've ever seen."

Pippen faced a backlash from Bulls fans after his comments, and at first he went on Twitter to defend himself, telling fans that he knows more about basketball than they do.

"For all of you that don't know , I played the game you keep watching and cheering," Pippen wrote.

But when the criticism didn't relent, Pippen softened his tone.

"Don't get me wrong, MJ was and is the greatest. But LeBron could by all means get to his level someday," Pippen wrote. "Every NBA generation has a new set of stars and LeBron is there as the best all around player in the game."

Yes, LeBron is the best player of his generation. But that's a long way from being better than Jordan.