Scotty Pippen Jr. is the son of Scottie Pippen, a Hall Of Famer and one of the 75 greatest players to have played in the history of the NBA. Pippen may have lost some fans with the things he has recently said and spoken about, but his contributions to the six titles that the Chicago Bulls won during the 90s have ensured that his legacy is set in stone.
Pippen Jr. has declared for the 2022 NBA draft and is a small guard with the ability to score in bunches. While his father was surely an inspiration for Scotty growing up, and the GOAT Michael Jordan was someone that he had the privilege of being around as a child, neither were his favorite players growing up, as he recently revealed.
Scottie Pippen Jr: "Growing up Kobe Bryant was my favorite player."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) June 3, 2022
“Growing up Kobe Bryant was my favorite player.”
The younger Pippen is 21, which means that he wasn’t able to see Scottie and MJ dominate the NBA on those Bulls teams; he hadn’t been born yet. Between the age of 8 to 10, though, Scotty would have witnessed Kobe Bryant solidifying his legacy as one of the greatest ever by winning his 4th and 5th NBA championships, both without Shaquille O’Neal.
Kobe has been a huge inspiration to several of today’s NBA stars, a lot of whom he was able to mentor or personally give guidance. Considering who his father is, Scotty Jr. may have been able to speak with Bryant at some point too, which will no doubt have added to his admiration for the legend.
Pippen Jr. has averaged over 20 points per game for his last two college seasons, playing as a guard for the Vanderbilt Commodores at the collegiate level. The younger Pippen doesn’t come close to his father’s giant frame, he is closer to 6’2, but if he can carry forward his scoring to the NBA level, then he could have a career that both his father and the late Kobe can be proud of.
