Scottie Pippen is a name that resonates with basketball fans around the world. His journey is one of the most inspiring stories in the history of the game. Pippen’s rise to fame was not an easy one, but he persevered and became one of the most iconic players in the NBA.
- Humble Beginnings In Arkansas
- Scottie Pippen Becomes A 6x NBA Champion
- Pippen’s Post-Bulls Career And Retirement
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From his childhood in rural Arkansas to his time playing college ball at the University of Central Arkansas, his early struggles with poverty, and his eventual success as a six-time NBA champion, Pippen’s story is one of determination, hard work, and dedication.
In this article, we will take a look at his journey and explore what made him such a basketball legend. We will examine his early life, his time in the NBA, his personal life, and his legacy, and take a closer look at what made Scottie Pippen one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Humble Beginnings In Arkansas
On September 25, 1965, a baby boy was born to Ethel and Preston Pippen. This baby boy was named Scotty Maurice Pippen… Yes, Pippen’s first name is spelled Scotty, not Scottie, as we’ve all been spelling it for his entire NBA career.
This information was recently given to us by his son, who’s in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers, Scotty Pippen Jr.. The young Pippen relayed the message this past July.
The older Pippen once talked about his name, too. He told the story of the spelling of his name in an interview with Esquire Magazine:
“It’s really Scotty. But for some reason, when people see it with a y, they shorten it to Scott. That’s how they announced me at the NBA draft. Scott Pippen. What was I going to do, argue with the commissioner?”
Pippen changed it to Scottie because that way, people wouldn’t mistake him for Scott. Still, it didn’t matter if his name ended in a “Y” or an “IE”, no one would’ve believed this skinny kid from a small town in Arkansas would make it in the NBA.
But Pippen did, of course, make it. Things weren’t easy for him, to say the least. Pippen was the youngest of 12 children, and as a child, Pippen played both football and basketball.
As a senior in high school, Pippen led his team to the state playoffs while earning all-conference honors. After high school, Pippen wasn’t highly recruited by colleges. He eventually chose to attend the University of Central Arkansas. Still, Don Dyer, the coach of the University of Central Arkansas’ basketball team, didn’t guarantee him a spot on the roster.
Pippen wasn’t even given a scholarship to the team, but Dyer did allow Pippen to practice with the team. Eventually, Pippen became the team’s equipment manager, where he would keep the equipment together, among other duties like collecting the basketballs and sweeping the floors.
Eventually, a few players quit the team, and this allowed Pippen to play as a reserve. Pippen didn’t contribute a lot, stat-wise, as a freshman, only scoring 4.3 points per game. Still, Pippen’s hustle and passion for the game won over the entire coaching staff.
By the time Pippen’s sophomore year arrived, something amazing had happened. As a freshman, Pippen was only 6’1″. By the time he was a sophomore, Pippen had grown to 6’6″. As a sophomore, Pippen became the team’s best player by leading the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.5 points and 9.2 rebounds.
As a junior, Pippen was named to the NAIA All-American Team after he led his team again in scoring and rebounding with averages of 19.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. When Pippen reached his senior year, he grew to 6’7″, and his dominance in college basketball continued.
Pippen averaged 23.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 3.1 steals per game on 59.2% shooting while also shooting 57.5% from three. Once again, Pippen was named to the NAIA All-American Team.
After finishing his college career, Pippen set his sights on the NBA, the problem was most NBA teams didn’t pay attention to NAIA schools. In fact, there would really be only one team that showed any interest in drafting Pippen…
Scottie Pippen Becomes A 6x NBA Champion
The Chicago Bulls were the only team that showed real interest in drafting Scottie Pippen in the 1987 NBA Draft. That’s why initially, when then-commissioner David Stern announced that the Seattle SuperSonics selected “Scott Pippen” with the fifth overall pick, fans were confused.
The reason Seattle selected Pippen was because of a deal the Sonics made with the Bulls behind the scenes. The deal was for the Sonics to pick Pippen and trade him to the Bulls for Olden Polynice, who the Bulls eventually selected with the eighth overall pick and future draft pick options.
This would be the beginning of creating possibly the greatest duo the NBA has ever seen in Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The thing is, as a rookie, you would have never guessed Pippen would become a great player.
Pippen finished his rookie season with zero starts and averages of 7.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 20.9 minutes per game. While those numbers may not have been eye-popping, Pippen would improve during his second season, as he started 56 games, raising his averages to 14.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 33.1 minutes per game.
As the years went on, Pippen’s role on the team grew. He became a key player in the Bulls’ offense and defense, serving as the perfect second option behind Michael Jordan.
Jordan, who was clearly the main man, was the “Batman” on the team. Chicago’s true leader, alpha dog. But like Batman in the comics, he can’t do it all by himself. He needs a partner, a “Robin.”
That’s what Pippen became, Robin to Jordan’s Batman, and that’s no knock on Pippen or his ability. No, Pippen was the perfect player to place next to Jordan on the basketball court.
Pippen’s ability to score, rebound, and defend made him a valuable asset to the team, and he quickly became a fan favorite. The early years of Pippen with the Bulls set the stage for what would become one of the most successful and dominant dynasties in NBA history.
The Bulls failed to defeat the Detroit Pistons, who quickly became their rivals in the 1988 and 1989 playoffs. In those two series, Pippen averaged 9.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.
This includes Pippen playing just one minute in Game 6 of the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals after Bill Laimbeer elbowed Pippen in the head. In the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals, Pippen would suffer another tragic fate in a big game.
This series went to Game 7, and in Game 7, Pippen would play 42 minutes, but a migraine forced him to struggle, shooting 1-10 from the field. The narrative around Pippen was that he was “soft” and that he folded under pressure.
All of this inspired Pippen to continue to improve his all-around game. When the 1990-91 season began, Pippen looked like a completely different player, more confident than he ever had looked.
With Pippen looking the best he’s ever looked and Michael Jordan being more willing to play in head coach Phil Jackson’s offense, the Chicago Bulls set a franchise record with 61 wins. The Bulls ended up facing their rivals, the Pistons, in the Eastern Conference Finals once again, this time, no elbow or migraine was going to stop Pippen.
Pippen averaged 22.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 3.0 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game as the Bulls swept the Pistons 4-0 to advance to the NBA Finals. Over the next three seasons, Pippen, along with Michael Jordan, led Chicago to three consecutive championship wins.
This includes Pippen’s stellar defense, along with Jordan, on Magic Johnson during the 1991 NBA Finals, where the Bulls defeated the Lakers 4-1. After securing their three-peat, Jordan shocked the world by retiring from the game, but this did give Pippen the keys to the franchise.
In his one full season without the aid of MJ, Pippen averaged a career-best 22.0 points per game, along with 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and a career-high 2.9 steals per game. Pippen also won the MVP at the 1994 All-Star Game by scoring a game-high 29 points and adding 11 rebounds and 4 steals.
What was remarkable about Pippen’s leadership without Jordan was that the Bulls won just two games less (55) in 1993-94 than they won (57) in 1992-93 with Jordan. Things appeared to be going great for Pippen until his Bulls reached the second round of the playoffs.
The game that will live on in infamy for Pippen was Game 3 against the New York Knicks in the Semifinals. There were 1.8 seconds remaining in the game, with the score tied 102-102. Chicago had the ball, and what was odd was when the Bulls got ready to inbound the ball, Pippen was sitting on the bench.
Bulls head coach Phil Jackson drew up a play for Pippen to be the inbounder and to pass the ball to rookie Toni Kukoc so that Kukoc could take the final shot. All of these years, Pippen played sidekick to Michael Jordan, and now that Pippen was the main man, he took it as a slap in the face that Jackson had more trust in a rookie than himself to take the final shot.
Of course, Jackson was known as “The Zen Master” and his feeling about Kukoc was right, as he hit the game-winner as time expired, giving the Bulls the 104-102 victory.
When Pippen took himself out, it didn’t look good. After Kukoc proved Jackson right by hitting the shot, it made Pippen look worse.
After the famous Last Dance documentary came out and showcased this incident, Pippen talked about his decision to take himself out of the game on the show TODAY:
“There’s always regrets about it, but as a player, I think I could’ve made that last shot, I think I could’ve been the one to have taken that last shot,” Pippen said.
“It wasn’t really about me taking the shot, it was about the respect that you put me out of bounds, your best player? And that was where I voiced my opinion. I didn’t really take the bench. (Jackson) told me to stay on the bench.”
Luckily for Pippen and Jackson, they would make up after the incident, and even though they’d lost the series to the Knicks in seven games, Chicago would go on to win three more titles from the 1995-96 season to the 1997-98 season. With the help of Michael Jordan returning, the Bulls became one of the greatest dynasties the league has ever seen.
One of Pippen’s most heroic performances of his career came in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. On the first play of the game, Pippen dunked the ball and injured his back. It was later discovered Pippen suffered a herniated disc, which he originally injured in Game 3.
This injury immediately brought back memories of Pippen’s migraine game and the game where he left after playing one minute, thanks to a Bill Laimbeer elbow. Not only was Pippen going to play, but he was going to show how big his heart was.
Pippen played over 25 minutes with his injured back, scoring 8 points and adding 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. At a quick glance, Pippen’s numbers are not eye-popping, but his presence on the court made a difference.
Pippen led the Bulls in the +- stat with a +16, the second-best on the Bulls was a +8 from Toni Kukoc. If Pippen had not played in the game, there’s no way the Bulls would have been in the position for Jordan to make the game-winning jumper.
Scottie Pippen was now a 6x NBA Champion. Even with all this success, there was drama occurring between Pippen and the Bulls’ front office for years, as Pippen was extremely underpaid.
After the season was over, Jordan retired, and Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets, ending his glorious time with the Chicago Bulls.
Pippen’s Post-Bulls Career And Retirement
After leaving the Chicago Bulls, Scottie Pippen played for two more NBA teams: the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers. Pippen was traded to the Rockets in 1999, teaming up with NBA superstars Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley.
The trio appeared not to gel well together, and Pippen also publicly feuded with Barkley. After one season and a disappointing 3-1 series loss in the opening round to the Los Angeles Lakers, Pippen asked to be traded.
Pippen would get his wish and was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, where he spent the next four years of his career. Playing alongside talented players such as Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire, Pippen helped the Trail Blazers reach the NBA playoffs in each of his four seasons with the team. His leadership skills and all-around performance made him a valuable asset to the Blazers.
Pippen’s time with the Rockets and Trail Blazers may not have been as decorated as his time with the Bulls, but it showcased his ability to adapt to different teams and play styles while still contributing to the success of his team. In the 2003-04 season, Pippen returned to the Chicago Bulls and played 23 games before retiring from the NBA as a Bull.
Pippen finished his 17-year career with stats of 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. He was a 7x All-Star, a 6x NBA champion, and a 2x Olympic gold medalist with the United States men’s basketball team, including on the famous 1992 Dream Team. Pippen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Since retiring from the NBA, Pippen has worked as the Chicago Bulls team ambassador from 2010 to 2012, where he became the senior advisor to Michael Reinsdorf, the Bulls’ president, and COO. Pippen worked with the Bulls until 2020.
On top of working with the Bulls, Pippen has also made appearances on different TV shows, including ESPN’s The Jump. Pippen’s personal life has been in the news a lot recently with his ex-wife, Larsa Pippen, with whom he married in 1997 and has four children with, after she started dating ex-teammate Michael Jordan’s son Marcus Jordan.
Pippen also has four other children, which are to his first wife, Karen McCollum, who he has a son with and other partners. Out of all of Pippen’s children, currently, one plays in the NBA, which is Scotty Jr., who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Pippen’s son with McCollum, Antron Pippen, died in 2021, and this truly upset Pippen. In 1990, Pippen’s father, Preston Pippen, passed away, and this was hard for Pippen to handle. It made Pippen want to be a great father to his children, as his father was to him.
“When I lost my father, it really made me want to be like a father and be like my father,” he told The Chicago Tribune in 1992. “I realized I had to become a more responsible person, and I also realized I could become as good as I wanted to in this game if I put forth the effort.
“I take that [with me] every day. It isn’t just something that I used through sports or anything, but, it’s telling a good friend that you love them, or telling your kids every day that you love them,” Pippen said. “You never know when the last time you may see them again. That’s never something that you can predict.”
Pippen has been in the news attacking his former teammate, Michael Jordan, over how he feels he was portrayed in Jordan’s Last Dance documentary. This led to Pippen releasing a memoir titled Unguarded, giving his take on what happened during his career on the Bulls.
It’s a shame to see these two former teammates, one of the best, if not the best, duos to ever play, having beef with each other. Hopefully one day, they can put all the hate behind them and move forward in life as friends, or at least on good terms.
Either way, none of this negative publicity can take away from Pippen being one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. There’s a reason Pippen was selected to both the 50 Greatest and 75 Greatest Players teams. He was truly that good, especially on the defensive side of the ball, anchoring the Bulls to six NBA titles in six tries.
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