Scottie Pippen

Scottie Pippen

Scottie Pippen is a retired American basketball player who played along with Michael Jordan on the team Chicago Bulls. He was born on September 25, 1965, in Hamburg, Arkansas to Ethel and Preston Pippen. His mother and father stood at 6 feet and 6 feet 1 inch respectively, and Pippen was the youngest as well as the tallest of 12 children. He played on his high school basketball team at the point guard position where he led his team to state playoffs and won the all-conference honors. However, he was not offered any college scholarships as at that time he was only 6 feet 1 inch in height and weighed 150 lbs, which was not impressive by a basketball player’s standards.

Pippen enrolled at University of Central Arkansas and began playing college basketball. His skills impressed the coaches and a growth spurt led him to finally stand 6 feet 8 inches tall. He was drafted by the NBA during the 1987 season, and was initially chosen to play for the Seattle Supersonics. However, he was soon traded to the Chicago Bulls where he played alongside Michael Jordan. Several magazines and sports critics have ranked them as the greatest duo in basketball history.

His rookie season was modestly successful, and he made his debut versus the Philadelphia 76ers. The following season, however, he really came into his own and helped to turn the performance of his team around. Between 1991 and 1993, he led his team to three consecutive NBA victories. They won 6 NBA titles in all, with Pippen serving as a valuable member of the team and maintaining a stellar personal scoring record.

In 1992, he was selected as a member of the “Dream Team” that was chosen to represent USA at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. The team won Gold, a feat that was repeated at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Pippen’s career spanned 17 years, most of which he spent with the Bulls. He also briefly played for the Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers, but returned to the Bulls for his final NBA season in 2003-04.

Scottie Pippen has numerous awards and accolades to his name, including being named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, being named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team 8 consecutive times and the All-NBA First Team 3 times in his career. He was a 7 time NBA All-Star player and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 1994. He was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice – once for his individual career, and also as a member of the U.S. Olympic “Dream Team”. He was named “USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year” in 1996 and is the only person in NBA history to have twice had the honor of winning an NBA title and Olympic gold medal in the same year, that is 1992 and 1996.

After Pippen retired from the NBA, the Chicago Bulls retired his jersey (# 33), and he is one of only 4 players to have gotten this honor. After quitting the NBA, he briefly returned to professional basketball, playing for Swedish and Finnish leagues. He now works as a sports analyst for television channels such as ESPN and ABC. He has been married twice, first to Karen McCollum, and later to Larsa Younan, who is his current spouse.


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