Scottie Pippen is a household NBA name. The basketball player who played second fiddle to Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s won six NBA Finals, had seven NBA All-Star selections and won two Olympic gold medals as a member of the 1992 and 1996 United States basketball teams.
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Often underrated, the 6-foot-8 former small forward from Hamburg, Arkansas, starred at the University of Central Arkansas before scoring more than 18,000 points across his 17-year career with the Bulls, Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers. The Basketball Hall of Fame inductee earned more than $100 million in career earnings, too, proving he was much more than M.J.'s sidekick.
Pippen may have looked like a hothead in the Bulls-Detroit Pistons rivalry days, but he's characterized as a pretty mellow guy. Off the court, the 56-year-old NBA player has been married twice and has seven children — including one that plays college basketball — to carry on his legacy.
Scottie Pippen's Ex-Wife Larsa Pippen
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If you don't follow all things Kardashian, Larsa Pippen is the woman people called Scottie Pippen's wife for nearly 20 years and gave birth to four of his children.
Here's a rundown of who she is:
- Larsa was born in Chicago, Illinois.
- She attended the University of Illinois and graduated with a political science degree.
- She and Scottie got married in 1997.
- Larsa is a model and fashionista.
- She maintains a blog, Life With Larsa, and is a brand ambassador for Haute Living magazine.
- Larsa had a Hollywood career as reality star, appearing on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Miami" Season 1 in 2011 and on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."
- Larsa runs the Pippen Foundation, which raises money for children's charities.
Larsa Pippen and The Kardashians
Larsa Pippen not only looks like Kim Kardashian, she's good friends with her.
How that came about is a mystery, but the aforementioned TV superstar has called the ex-NBA wife her "best friend." Larsa has made plenty of appearances in "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" (KUWTK) and "Kim and Kourtney Take Miami" with Kim and her sister Kourtney Kardashian.
Larsa has a lot in common with the Kardashian/Jenner family. For starters, she's garnered more than 3 million followers taking selfies on Instagram. She also dated and married an NBA star, which falls right in line with Khloe Kardashian's marriage to Lamar Odom and daughter with Tristan Thompson as well as Kim's brief marriage to Chris Humphries or Kendall Jenner's star-studded NBA dating history.
All you need to know is Larsa Pippen has been a close family friend of the Kardashians for quite some time. Kim, who was previously married to rapper Kanye West even said she turned to her BFF for parenting advice in 2014. In July 2020, however, many of the Kardashian women unfollowed Larsa because they reportedly simply "drifted apart."
Larsa & Scottie's Four Kids
Larsa and Scottie had four children over the course of their relationship. Scotty Jr. was born in 2000, Preston in 2002, Justin in 2005 and Sophia in 2008. Sophia Pippen takes after her reality TV star mother, as she appeared on "Dancing With the Stars: Juniors" in 2018.
Their oldest son, Scotty Pippen Jr., is paving his own path on the court as a point guard for Vanderbilt University in the SEC. The Commodores point guard was named to the 2021 All-SEC First Team after averaging 20.8 points per game as a sophomore. He averaged 20.4 points per game at Vandy and after his junior season declared for the 2022 NBA Draft.
Meanwhile, Justin Pippen plays high school basketball for Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, alongside Bronny James, the son of LeBron James.
As recently as 2015, the family was all spotted together the NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Larsa and Scottie Divorced in 2018
Scottie Pippen filed for divorce from Larsa for the first time in October 2016 amid cheating allegations accusing Larsa getting together with rapper Future. She's denied that claim multiple times, but the artist has alluded to an affair in a few of his songs.
After that, the pair were able to make their marriage work until 2018, when Larsa officially filed for divorce. Their divorce case was open for nearly nearly three years before it was officially finalized on December 15, 2021.
She claimed on social media that cheating wasn't the root of their problems, but rather it was her loneliness because he was never around.
"I was married to him for 20 years, I did everything for him and my family. People change, and that's what really happened," she wrote in a tweet, via TMZ.
Now she goes by her birthname: Larsa Younan.
"After careful consideration and 19 years together, Larsa and Scottie have each filed for dissolution of their marriage," a representative for Larsa Pippen told E! News.
"Although they are no longer to be married, Larsa remains hopeful that she and Scottie will always do what is best for their 4 beautiful children and jointly raise them with love and respect. She would like to thank everyone for their understanding and kindly ask for privacy from the media during this difficult time of transition for her family."
Larsa and Scottie appear to be on good terms still. She defended her seven-time NBA All-Star ex on Twitter when ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary focused on Scottie's cheap, seven-year, $18 million contract with the Bulls — still one of the most ridiculous deals in NBA history. Scottie went on to sign a five-year, $67 million deal with the Rockets.
"Thx for your concern Scottie did ok #TheLastDance," she wrote in a trending tweet accompanied with a screenshot of his career earnings. She also responded to trolls on Instagram by telling one, "Stop tripping dude u don't know what you're talking about. I held him down and still do. Just bc I don't air his dirty laundry doesn't mean it doesn't stink I just don't wanna do his laundry anymore."
However, she told Alexia Echevarria of "The Real Housewives of Miami" that she felt like Scottie had been "punishing" her since the divorce was finalized. She said after she tried to force him to sell their Miami home, Scottie allegedly wanted her to send their daughter Sophia back to L.A.
"I was traumatized," Larsa said. "If he doesn't get his way, he punishes me. He's like The Punisher."
These days, the two live separate lives. The 1994 NBA All-Star Game MVP still calls Chicago home as he's of public interest once again considering "The Last Dance" hit Netflix last year. Meanwhile, the "Real Housewives of Miami" star resides in Miami, Florida where she's been raising their kids.
Larsa made waves in late 2020 when she was linked to Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley. Rumors swirled when Beasley, who is 22 years Pippen's junior, and the reality TV celeb were spotted holding hands in a pic online. Beasley's wife Montana Yao reacted to the news in an Instagram story.
"Wow... I don't even know this man..this is wild y'all I'm seeing it for the time just like y'all," Yao wrote.
The two have since split in a messy fashion, with Yao and Pippen trading insults online. Beasley issued a public apology on Instagram. He and Yao share a two-year-old son named Makai.
Scottie Pippen's Other Kids/Relationships
Scottie Pippen married Karen McCollum in 1988 after the two had a son, Antron Pippen. They split after two years, however.
The former NBA superstar also has two more daughters. He had Sierra Pippen with his former fiancee Yvette De Leon and Taylor Pippen with former girlfriend Sonya Roby. Taylor played college volleyball at Southern Illinois University and now works as at JPMorgan Chase & Co., per her LinkedIn.
This post was originally published on May 4, 2020.