Early and Personal Life:
Scottie was born on 25th September 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas, to Ethel and Preston Pippen. He was the youngest among the 12 children they had. His father used to work in a paper mill and had a stroke due to which his right side was paralyzed. As a result, they could not afford to send their other children to college. Pippen used to attend Hamburg High School, where he led the team for the state level. But even after that, he was not offered any type of scholarship. Later on, he was discovered by a basketball coach Don Dyer when he was passing by, and then he started attending the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. His height was around 6 feet 8 inches during that time. Their team did not play the valuable tournaments due to which he did not receive any kind of popularity or media coverage, but as a senior he dominated everyone in the Arkansas Intercollegiate and drew attention of the NBA scouts. In 1988, Pippen married Karen McCollum with whom he has a son named Antron Pippen. The couple later separated in 1990. After that, in 1997 he married Larsa Younan and they got divorced in 2018. He has four children with her named Scotty Jr., Preston, Justin and Sophia.
Career:
He was chosen in the 1987 NBA Draft and was handed over to Chicago Bulls. He made his debut on 7th November 1987 against Philadelphia 76ers. Michael Jordan was his teammate. Jordan helped him to polish his skills in the game and guided him for more growth in his career. His game improved and he was the NBA All-star in 1990. In 1991, he was announced as a member of the men’s the United States Olympic Basketball team to represent US in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Michael Jordan retired in 1994 after which Pippen, who was his shadow started emerging where he started earning All-Star Game MVP honors. In 1998, he joined Houston Rockets which got him a solo cover on Sports Illustrated and he received a lot of media attention. Pippen’s salary was also raised to $11 million which was approximately four times what he received at Chicago Bulls. In 1999, he was then traded to Portland Trail Blazers. After a series of seasons, in 2003 he returned back to Chicago Bulls. In 2004, Pippen then announced his retirement. In 2007, he attempted a comeback in NBA but the coach did not allow him to state that it was crazy. After that, he was the public relations ambassador for the Chicago Bulls. In February 2020, he was dismissed as they could not come to a perfect decision of him attending ESPN’s “The Jump”. He has appeared on various TV shows as a guest and had cameo appearances.
Controversies:
In 2013, a lawsuit was filed against Pippen by Camran Shafighi where he claimed that Pippen physically attacked him after finding him taking pictures of Pippen at the restaurant. There were no charges filed against Pippen. Later in 2016, his financial advisor Robert Lunn was found out to be a fraud for forging Pippen’s signature to pay off his own debts and had to serve 3 years in jail.
Net Worth:
Scottie Pippen’s net worth ranges from $40 million to $50 million approximately. His income is primarily as a player as he had signed with different teams a total of four contracts. Last time, when he played for Chicago Bulls he has worth $18 million. His career earnings are said to be around $109 million including the incentives. He also had represented various brands such as Lays, Coca-Cola, Nike with his own sneakers line. He was said to be one of the most irresponsible players, financially losing money here and there due to which his current net worth is lower than what it should have actually been.
