Scotty Pippen Jr., the son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, has been making a name for himself this season with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he certainly did the family name proud on Saturday night when he put up a career-high 30 points on the Chicago Bulls, the team with whom his father, of course, won six NBA championships. The fact that the game was played at The United Center, where the elder Pippen had so many memorable performances, made it even more special.
Pippen, who has to be the early frontrunner for Most Improved Player, added 10 assists and made 13 of his 16 shots, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range as the Grizzlies beat the Bulls, 142-131.
“It’s definitely a special place to play,” Pippen said of Chicago’s United Center. “[To] see my dad’s name up [in the rafters]. I’ve dreamed of this moment. It’s a dream come true to be finally able to play here.”
Pippen played in 21 games for the Grizzlies last season after being called up from the G League, where he was one of the best players for the South Bay Lakers but wasn’t getting his NBA shot. Pippen Jr. told our James Herbert that he was considering going to play overseas before he finally got that first NBA call up. His patience and perseverance have certainly paid off.
“Opportunity is huge for a lot of us,” Pippen said on Saturday. “I’m just trying to take advantage of it.”
He’s doing a lot more than that. After Ja Morant went down against the Lakers with a hip injury, Pippen was put into the starting lineup two days later and immediately recorded the first triple-double of his career with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a win over the Wizards. Incidentally, the Pippens are now the first father-son duo in the NBA play-by-play era to each have a triple-double on the books.
Since becoming a starter, Pippen has averaged over 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal per game as the Grizzlies have won five of eight to more than stay afloat with Morant out of action. Memphis is now 10-7 and above the Play-In line in the stacked and tightly packed Western Conference.
Pippen is not going to remain in the starting lineup when Morant returns, but he has obviously carved out a role on this team as a meaningful reserve whose numbers in lineups alongside Morant speak to the viability of that pairing. This guy can play. It might’ve taken him a minute to get his shot, but now that he’s in the NBA — like Seth Curry or Gary Payton II — he’s going to stick for a long time.
