Retired American NBA player Scottie Pippen began his professional career in 1987 with the Chicago Bulls. He played 17 seasons throughout his career, 12 of which were played with the Bulls. A superb small forward, Scottie won many titles including 6 NBA championships during his playing tenure. He was a 7 NBA All-Star, 3 All-NBA First Team, 8 NBA All-Defensive First Team among many others. Scottie Pippen played for the Bulls with Michael Jordan and was instrumental in transforming the team into a champions team. The two are also credited with making basketball a popular sport around the world in the 1990s.
Scottie Pippen Bio (Age)
Born Scotty (commonly spelled Scottie) MauricePippen on September 25, 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas, the former basketball player is the twelfth child of Ethel and Preston Pippen. He was born into a poor family and his father worked in a paper mill until he was forced to retire when Scottie was only 14 years old after suffering a stroke that left his right side paralyzed and his mobility as well impaired his speech.
Due to the financial crisis in his family, Scottie’s parents could not afford to pay for their children’s college education, but his talent paved the way for him. He was a student at Hamburg High School, where he acted as a point guard and completed all conferences in his senior year. Unfortunately, no university offered him a college scholarship after graduation.
Then Don Dyer, then head coach at Conway, University of Central Arkansas, spotted him and brought him on board the school team as a companion. He eventually joined the NBA in 1987 after being drafted that year by the Seattle SuperSonics with 5th overall and traded to the Chicago Bulls.
His capital
Scottie Pippen made a lot of money during his active years in the NBA. After being drafted by the Bulls, he signed a contract that would earn him more than $5 million over the next six years, starting at $725,000 in the 1987-88 season. His salary continued to increase as the season progressed, reaching $5.408 million by the end of the 2004–05 season when he retired from the sport.
Family – wife, children, divorce
Scottie Pippen is currently married to LarsaYounan, a Chicago native, with a degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois. She was also a student at the Piven Theater Workshop and has written about both subjects due to her great love of fashion and fitness. Larsa, one of Kim Kardashian’s best friends, starred in The Real Housewives of Miami .
The former basketball pro started dating the young lady in 1995 and two years later they got married. Larsa, who is ten years younger than Pippen, tied the knot in 1997 and had four children named Scotty Pippen Jr., Preston Pippen, Justin Pippen and Sophia Pippen born in 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2008.
Scottie’s marriage to Larsa is his second time married. His first marriage was in 1988 to Karen McCollum, with whom he had one son, Antron Pippen. They separated in 1990.
In all, Scottie fathered seven children from three women and that includes children from his first and second marriages. Others are two daughters – Taylor Pippen, born in 1994 with his ex-girlfriend Sonya Roby and Sierra Pippen, born in 1995 with his ex-fiancée Yvette De Leon.
During the 2016 New York Fashion Week on September 8, Larsa and Scottie walked the red carpet with their daughter Sophia, who supported them as she was one of the models at the event. They had previously celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary and whoever saw them at the event would never have sensed that the couple’s relationship had cracked.
However, on October 21, 2016, the duo announced their decision to dissolve their marriage. This comes after Scottie filed for divorce from his wife in Florida earlier on the 18th of the same month and year.
Rumors of their split suggested that rapper Future was the main reason behind it. According to TMZ, Larsa met the rapper at a party held in Miami in August 2016, after which they were both spotted at a nightclub there. As if that wasn’t enough, Larsa also took his private jet to Las Vegas with Future in September 2016.
Despite their cozy relationship, Scottie’s wife insisted she was just friends with the rapper, but her husband wouldn’t buy it as he believed she cheated on him with the said rapper in Miami. Scottie Pippen finally dropped his divorce petition a year later in Broward County Family Court after deciding to mend his relationship with his wife.
Height
Pippen is an offspring of two very tall people. His mother was six feet tall while his father was just an inch taller. It’s no surprise, then, that Scottie became a successful basketball player given his 6ft 8in height. He became the tallest of his siblings, weighing 95 kg according to his stated weight.