Scottie Pippen

Lore & Background

Pippen was born on September 25, 1965, in Hamburg, Arkansas, to Ethel (1923–2016) and Preston Pippen (1920–1990), a paper mill worker. He has 11 older siblings. His mother was 6 ft tall and his father was 6 ft, and all of their children were tall, with Scottie Pippen being the tallest. His parents could not afford to send their other children to college. Pippen's second-oldest brother became paralyzed after an injury in a high school PE class. Six years later, his father suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right side, prevented him from walking, and affected his speech. Playing point guard at Hamburg High School, Pippen led his team to the state playoffs and earned all-conference honors as a senior, but was not offered any college scholarships.

Reader's Guide

Pippen began his college playing career at the University of Central Arkansas after being discovered by the school's head basketball coach, Don Dyer, as a walk-on. He did not receive much media coverage because Central Arkansas played in the NAIA, while the media focused on the more prestigious NCAA. Pippen stood only tall when he graduated from high school, but experienced a growth spurt while at Central Arkansas and grew to . As a senior, his per game averages of 23.6 points, 10 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and near 60 percent field goal shooting earned him consensus NAIA All-American honors in 1986 and 1987, making him a dominant player in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference, drawing the attention of NBA scouts.

Did You Know?

• Pippen is one of the only two NBA players to have won an NBA title and Olympic gold medal in the same year twice (the other one is Jrue Holiday), having done so in both 1992 and 1996.
• He was a part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic 'Dream Team' which beat its opponents by an average of 44 points.
• Pippen is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, once for his individual career and once as a member of the 'Dream Team', having been simultaneously inducted for both on August 13, 2010.