Scotty Pippen Jr. had one of the best games of his NBA career last night, recording 16 points off the bench for the Memphis Grizzlies in a 122-99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. After the game, he spoke about how significant that game was – and it meant a lot to him personally.
Speaking to the media after the game, Pippen revealed that “one of the coaches” on the Bucks didn’t believe in his abilities, so he felt extra motivated to prove to that coach that he could. He had three rebounds and a steal during the effort, so the message was pretty clearly sent.
“One of the coaches over there didn’t believe in me, so I had to show him that I could play defense,” Pippen said.
It didn’t take long for users on X to figure out exactly who Pippen was talking about.
Scottie Pippen Jr. on facing the Bucks
“One of the coaches over there didn’t believe in me, so I had to show him that I could play defense.” 👀
(via @grindcitymedia) pic.twitter.com/bR8cbErMUY
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 1, 2024
The comments on this video and others have been flooded with users calling out Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as the one who “didn’t believe” in Pippen. Ham was the head coach of the Lakers during the 2022-23 season, when Pippen was a rookie. But Pippen couldn’t get more than 32 minutes the entire season and played only six games for the Lakers.
Pippen joined the Grizzlies in the middle of the 2023-24 season and played fairly well for them, averaging 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game over 21 games with 16 starts.
Through six games to start this season he’s putting up similar numbers primarily as a bench player.
Will Pippen continue to prove the doubters wrong this season?
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