Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. appeared on the latest episode of the Sloane Knows podcast, where he was asked which non-active NBA player he’d want to share the court with. Pippen Jr. unsurprisingly went with his father, Scottie Pippen, and then boldly claimed he was better offensively when asked about a 1-on-1 game in their primes.
“I feel his height gives him an advantage,” Pippen said. “I’m a little quicker, though. I feel, offensively, I’m better than him. I don’t know, I think you gotta put that on 2K and see what they do, I guess.”
Talk about confidence. Pippen Jr. did concede later, however, that his father would have beaten him in the game.
“I’ll say probably 11-9, him,” Pippen Jr. said. “I’ll give him 11-9. It’s gonna be close. It’s gonna be a hard-fought game, but I’ll say 11-9.”
With all due respect to Pippen Jr., who went undrafted in 2022, it wouldn’t be close. His father is one of the greatest defenders in NBA history, and he would have struggled to score in this 1-on-1 game. The elder Pippen’s size advantage would have made it easier for him to score as well, so this wouldn’t have been much of a contest.
As for Pippen Jr.’s initial claim that he is the better offensive player, it’s hard to agree with him. The 24-year-old is averaging 9.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Grizzlies in 2024-25 while shooting 47.3% from the field and 35.7% from beyond the arc.
Those numbers would go up if Pippen Jr. were a full-time starter and not a reserve, but he still wouldn’t be some offensive juggernaut. Now, his father wasn’t a force on the offensive end either, but he was certainly better than him.
Pippen averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in his career. If we only consider his very best seasons offensively, he put up 20.3 points and 5.9 assists from 1992-93 to 1997-98 while shooting 47.9% from the field and 33.9% from beyond the arc.
Pippen may not have been as refined a scorer as his son, but he knew how to put the ball in the basket. He was also a very good playmaker and deserves more respect than he gets nowadays for how great of a player he was. Pippen has basically been reduced to nothing more than Michael Jordan’s sidekick nowadays, which is unfair. Sure, Jordan was the far better player of the two, but Pippen played a big role in the Chicago Bulls winning six titles in the 1990s.
Getting back to Pippen Jr., he would be hoping to win some titles of his own in the years to come. His Grizzlies do have a bright future with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. leading the way, and perhaps one day they’ll win a title or two.
They have aspirations of winning this season itself, as they are fourth in the West with a 41-24 record. The Grizzlies will be looking to climb further up the standings when they take on the Utah Jazz at FedEx Forum on Wednesday at 8 PM ET.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
