Larsa Pippen emotionally reacted to her son’s new deal with the Memphis Grizzlies by gushing over her eldest child as Scotty Pippen Jr. earns a long-term shot in the NBA as he follows in his fathers’ footsteps.
Pippen Jr. turned professional in 2022 when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers after initially going undrafted, before he was signed by the Grizzlies in January 2024 after spending time in the G-League.
Initially on a two-way deal, the youngster was shooting for his basketball future and eventually produced strong averages of 12.9 points, 4.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game in 25.1 minutes of action, showing he’s capable of holding how own as a pro.
So in light of that, Shams Charania reports he has agreed a new deal with the Grizzlies to join on a “standard multiyear” contract following an encouraging offseason in the Summer League as well as through preseason, earning the praise of his mother.
“Congrats my love,” Larsa wrote on Instagram, celebrating her son’s new deal with the Grizzlies organization.
Pippen Jr.’s high expectations
Pippen Jr. was born in Oregon on November 10, 2000 whilst his father was playing with the Portland Trail Blazers and he has a large legacy to live up to if he wants to follow in those footsteps.
Pippen, who played as a pro from 1987-2004, is regarded as one of the finest small forwards of all-time and produced 18,940 career points as well as 7494 rebounds and 6135 assists on his way to seven NBA All-Star appearances and six NBA championships.
He starred in the Bulls‘ dominant 1990s team and even went on to have his jersey number of 33 retired by the organization, and was part of the 1992 United States’ Olympics “Dream Team”, going on to become one of two players to win an NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year, twice.
So if he aims to live up to the hype, earning a standard contract is a promising sign for the 23-year-old Pippen Jr.