Larsa Pippen is standing by her ex-husband, Scottie Pippen, amid controversy surrounding
his past NBA deal that recently resurfaced.
As fans may know, the second episode of The Last Dance, a new 10-part ESPN docu series
about the Chicago Bulls, centered on Pippen during his time with the Bulls.
The episode reopened some old wounds, making the case that the All-Star was the most undervalued
player on the team, despite having signed an $18 million deal.
The show even divulges scenes of Scottie arguing with then-general manager Jerry Krause, bashing
him for failing to pay him what he thought he deserved.
"You're very underpaid, though, as one of the top players.
What do you think your value is?"
"My day will come."
Upon seeing this, many viewers deemed Scottie ungrateful, while others slammed the NBA for
taking him for granted.
Soon, his name began trending on Twitter, as did the phrase "$18 million Scottie Pippen
pity party."
While Scottie has remained silent amid the controversy, his ex-wife Larsa rushed to his
defense on social media, making it clear the six-time NBA champion isn't struggling anymore.
In response to all the Twitter uproar, the reality star wrote,
"Thx for your concern Scottie did ok #TheLastDance"
She posted her comment alongside a screenshot of a Bleacher Report article showing her ex-husband's
NBA earnings: $109,192,430, according to the outlet.
As the article asserted, number 33 made nearly $20 million more from the NBA than Michael
Jordan did.
Jordan may have made way more during his career from endorsements and business deals, but
still, point taken.
Larsa and Scottie were married from 1997 to 2018 when the former Real Housewives of Miami
star filed for divorce.
At that point, they had been separated for about two years.
These days, the two remain amicable and continue to raise their four children together, those
being sons Scotty Jr., Preston, and Justin, as well as daughter Sophia.
Preston is already following in his father's footsteps and often posts shots playing basketball
on Instagram with Scottie and Larsa cheering him on.
He even once posted a throwback photo of himself as a young kid, watching a basketball game
with his famous dad.
In case fans are not aware, the "Scottie Pippen pity party" drama all started when The Last
Dance explained Pippen's supposedly tragic deal with the Chicago Bulls on the second
episode of the docuseries.
"Pippen is as underpaid as underpaid gets, only the 122nd highest-paid player in the
league."
The basketball star was drafted by the Bulls in 1987, three years after they drafted Michael
Jordan.
At the time, Scottie was 22 years old and not everyone had high hopes for him.
Still, he eventually became one of the most valued players on the team, and supposedly
one of the most underpaid.
When he started out, Scottie signed a six-year deal worth $5 million, an arguably good deal
at the time.
By 1991, the fourth year of his initial contract, Scottie was an All-Star, so the Chicago team
offered him a huge $18 million deal for an additional five years.
He took it, but the problem is that when spread out through seven years, the money wasn't
all that great, at least for an NBA player as valuable to the league as he was.
Scottie made around $2.78 million during his first four seasons, making him the 122nd highest-paid
player in the league.
He reportedly never made more than $3.4 million in a season.
According to a tweet from ESPN on April 19, 2020,
"Scottie Pippen was the 122nd-highest-paid player in the NBA in '97-98, but was easily
one of the best players in the league.
#TheLastDance"
After his time with the Chicago Bulls, Scottie was traded to the Houston Rockets for Roy
Rogers.
From that deal, he earned a five-year, $67.2 million contract.
Soon, Scottie was traded again, this time to the Portland Trail Blazers in return for
six players after one year.
He made millions in his four seasons with the Portland team, though his stardom in the
court began to diminish.
Finally, he returned to the Bulls for the final two years of his career on a $10 million
contract.
While he helped out the newbies, his injuries kept him from performing at his top level,
and in 2004, he retired from professional basketball.
Spotrac reported that after 17 NBA seasons, Scottie walked away with just shy of $110
million.
At the United Center, the home to the Chicago Bulls, his statue still stands to this day.
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