Scottie Pippen played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls.
81 Facts About Scottie Pippen
2.
Scottie Pippen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight consecutive times and the All-NBA First Team three times.
3.
Scottie Pippen was a seven-time NBA All-Star and was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1994.
4.
Scottie Pippen played a main role on both the 1992 Chicago Bulls Championship team and the 1996 Chicago Bulls Championship team, which were selected as two of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History.
5.
In October 2021, Scottie Pippen was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
6.
Scottie Pippen is the only NBA player to have won an NBA title and Olympic gold medal in the same year twice, having done so in both 1992 and 1996.
7.
Scottie Pippen was a part of the 1992 US Olympic "Dream Team" which beat its opponents by an average of 44 points.
8.
Scottie Pippen was a key figure in the 1996 Olympic team, alongside former "Dream Team" members Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, and David Robinson, as well as newer faces such as Shaquille O'Neal, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway and Grant Hill.
9.
Scottie Pippen is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once for his individual career and once as a member of the "Dream Team", having been simultaneously inducted for both on August 13,2010.
10.
Scottie Pippen was formerly married to television personality Larsa Pippen, and is the father of basketball player Scotty Pippen Jr.
11.
Scottie Pippen was born in Hamburg, Arkansas, to Ethel and Preston Scottie Pippen.
12.
Scottie Pippen's father worked in a paper mill until suffering from a stroke that paralyzed his right side, prevented him from walking, and affected his speech.
13.
Scottie Pippen began his college playing career at the University of Central Arkansas after being discovered by the school's head basketball coach, Don Dyer, as a walk-on.
14.
Scottie Pippen did not receive much media coverage because Central Arkansas played in the NAIA, while the media focused on the more prestigious NCAA.
15.
Scottie Pippen became part of Chicago's young forward duo with 6-foot-10-inch power forward Horace Grant, although both came off the bench to back up Brad Sellers and Charles Oakley, respectively, during their rookie seasons.
16.
Scottie Pippen made his NBA debut on November 7,1987, when the Chicago Bulls opened against the Philadelphia 76ers.
17.
Jordan and Scottie Pippen frequently played one-on-one outside of team practices, simply to hone each other's skills on offense and defense.
18.
Scottie Pippen claimed the starting small forward position during the 1988 NBA Playoffs, helping the Jordan-led Bulls to reach the conference semifinals for the first time in over a decade.
19.
Scottie Pippen emerged as one of the league's premier young forwards at the turn of the decade, recording then-career highs in points, rebounds, and field goal shooting, as well as being the NBA's number three leader in steals.
20.
Scottie Pippen continued to improve as the Bulls reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989 and 1990, but were eliminated both times by the Detroit Pistons.
21.
Alongside the help of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen continued to improve his game, especially in shooting from the field.
22.
Scottie Pippen was second on the team in points per game with 17.8 and steals with 2.4 next to Michael Jordan and he was second in rebounds per game with 7.3 next to Horace Grant.
23.
Scottie Pippen led the team in blocks per game with 1.1 and assists per game with 6.2.
24.
Scottie Pippen ranked fifth overall in the NBA in steals, both for total and per game.
25.
Scottie Pippen helped lead the Bulls to their first three-peat, as they won the following two years in 1992 and 1993.
26.
Scottie Pippen earned 10 NBA All-Defensive Team nods, including 8 on the first team.
27.
However, one of the most controversial moments of Scottie Pippen's career came in his first year without Jordan.
28.
Scottie Pippen, who had been the Bulls' leader all season long in Jordan's absence, was so angered by Jackson's decision to not let him take the potential game-winner that he refused to leave the bench and re-enter the game when the timeout was over.
29.
In Game 6, Scottie Pippen made the signature play of his career.
30.
Midway in the third quarter, Scottie Pippen received the ball during a Bulls fast break, charging toward the basket.
31.
Scottie Pippen landed several feet away from the basket along the baseline, incidentally walking over a fallen Ewing.
32.
Scottie Pippen then made taunting remarks to both Ewing and then Spike Lee, who was standing courtside supporting the Knicks, thus receiving a technical foul.
33.
Later that year, Scottie Pippen became the first person to win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year twice, playing for Team USA at the Atlanta Olympics.
34.
Phil Jackson, the Bulls' head coach, was honored as one of the 10 greatest coaches in NBA history, while the 1992 Chicago Bulls Championship team and the 1996 Chicago Bulls Championship team, on which Scottie Pippen had played a key role, were selected as two of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History.
35.
Scottie Pippen had purposefully delayed off-season surgery so that his summer off-season would not be complicated by rehab, pushing his unavailability well into the regular season.
36.
In spite of this, Scottie Pippen ultimately rejoined the team, without any much-deserved contract renegotiation to pay him what he was worth relative to the then league pay scale, and joined Jordan in another Bulls run to the 1998 NBA Finals, where they again bested the Jazz to win their second three-peat.
37.
Scottie Pippen's salary was $11 million, almost four times what it had been the previous season with the Chicago Bulls, $2.775 million.
38.
Alongside Barkley, his former Olympic teammate and future NBA Hall of Famer, Scottie Pippen joined Hakeem Olajuwon, but on-court chemistry problems emerged, especially with Barkley.
39.
In game 3 of the series, Scottie Pippen scored 37 points and had 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block in staving off elimination.
40.
Scottie Pippen expressed the wish to play for his former coach Phil Jackson, who was now coaching the Los Angeles Lakers.
41.
Scottie Pippen said one of the reasons he wanted to play for Jackson was that he longed to return to the system in which they won six NBA titles together in Chicago.
42.
Scottie Pippen was traded by the Houston Rockets to the Portland Trail Blazers on October 2,1999, in exchange for Stacey Augmon, Kelvin Cato, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw and Walt Williams.
43.
Scottie Pippen started in all 82 games that season, averaging 12.5 points per game, 5 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game.
44.
In game 5, with Portland trailing by 2 points, Scottie Pippen hit a three pointer with 7.3 seconds remaining.
45.
Scottie Pippen was forced to miss 18 games due to tendinitis in his right elbow, which was his shooting arm.
46.
Scottie Pippen had the elbow examined by several doctors before going into surgery.
47.
Scottie Pippen finished the season with averages of 11.3 points per game, 4.6 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game.
48.
Scottie Pippen played for two more seasons in Portland: the Trail Blazers made the playoffs both years, but were eliminated in the first round each time, in another sweep to the Lakers and in a tough 7-game series to the Mavericks, respectively.
49.
On February 3,2003, by then 37 years old, Scottie Pippen willed the Trail Blazers to a win over the Orlando Magic with 25 points, 17 rebounds, and 7 assists.
50.
The deal was made official on July 20,2003, as Scottie Pippen signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the franchise.
51.
Scottie Pippen assumed a veteran role on the team in order to guide the young Bulls team, but was faced with numerous injuries throughout the season and was only able to play 23 games, averaging 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
52.
Scottie Pippen had been a constant presence in the NBA playoffs prior to this season, reaching the playoffs in 16 straight years.
53.
Scottie Pippen is second in the NBA in career playoff steals with 395.
54.
Scottie Pippen's 33 joined Michael Jordan's 23, Bob Love's 10, and Jerry Sloan's 4 as the only numbers retired by the Bulls.
55.
In 2007, Scottie Pippen had attempted to make an NBA comeback as he expressed that he would like to play for a championship contender in hopes of getting his 7th Championship ring.
56.
Scottie Pippen had spent the winter working out in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and announced that he was hoping for a late-season return to the league.
57.
In January 2008, Scottie Pippen made a brief comeback to professional basketball at age 42, when he made a tour of Scandinavia and played two games for top Finnish league team Torpan Pojat, and top Swedish league team Sundsvall.
58.
On September 21,1991, amongst nine other players, Scottie Pippen was announced as a member of the United States men's Olympic basketball team which was set to represent the United States of America in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
59.
In 1992, Scottie Pippen played on the original Dream Team which competed in the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
60.
Scottie Pippen returned to the Bulls on July 15,2010, as a team ambassador.
61.
Scottie Pippen is one of three players in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season, and he has the record for second-most career steals in the playoffs behind James.
62.
Scottie Pippen was skilled at staying in front of his man on defense, and particularly effective as a help defender, with his long arms in traps.
63.
Scottie Pippen was capable of chasing down an opposing player in transition to block shots from behind.
64.
On offense, Scottie Pippen relied primarily on his remarkable athleticism to gain an advantage over his defender; he slashed towards the basket for higher percentage shots.
65.
Early in his career, Scottie Pippen was not an adept jump shooter; he struggled when shooting directly on a line to the basket.
66.
Scottie Pippen honed his jump shot over the course of his career and became more effective at scoring from distance later in his career.
67.
Scottie Pippen is remembered as one of the greatest basketball defenders of all time, and one of the most versatile and agile players overall.
68.
Scottie Pippen was gifted with extraordinary athleticism, even compared with other professional athletes, and skills in areas that bode well for basketball.
69.
Scottie Pippen often led the Bulls in assists and blocks as a result.
70.
Scottie Pippen was known as a selfless player, and his team-focused approach to the game was a key component in the Bulls' championship wins.
71.
Scottie Pippen's career assists total of 6,135, which was 23rd all-time among all players when he retired, is a testament to that approach.
72.
Scottie Pippen was an athletic finisher at the rim, both with slam dunks and a skillful finger roll that he added to his skill set over time.
73.
Scottie Pippen was a prolific perimeter shooter for the time, taking about 3,000 and making almost 1,000 three-pointers in his career.
74.
Scottie Pippen has been married twice, first marrying Karen McCollum in 1988.
75.
Scottie Pippen married Larsa Pippen in 1997, who later became a Real Housewives of Miami star.
76.
Shortly after retiring, Scottie Pippen learned that his financial adviser Robert Lunn, whom he claimed had been recommended by the Bulls, was under investigation for bank fraud.
77.
Scottie Pippen had invested over $20 million through Lunn, who was sentenced to three years in prison in March 2016 on multiple fraud counts, including one count of forging Pippen's signature on a $1.4 million loan that Lunn used to pay off personal debts.
78.
Scottie Pippen is a Prince Hall Freemason, belonging to Unity Lodge No 454.
79.
Scottie Pippen developed a reputation for being a poor tipper at restaurants, earning him the nickname "No Tippin' Scottie Pippen".
80.
On May 27,2011, Scottie Pippen generated a great deal of criticism by saying that Miami Heat star LeBron James may be a better player than Michael Jordan.
81.
Shafighi said that he was physically attacked by Scottie Pippen after taking pictures of Scottie Pippen inside and outside the restaurant, and was then taken to a hospital.