Justin Pippen

❧

Wikipedia

Justin Pippen
Pippen in 2024
No. 10 – California Golden Bears
PositionPoint guard
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (2005-07-11) July 11, 2005 (age 20)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolSierra Canyon (Los Angeles, California)
College

Justin Pippen (born July 11, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the California Golden Bears of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He played his freshman season for the 2024–25 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team before joining the 2025–26 California Golden Bears men's basketball team as a sophomore after attending Sierra Canyon School. He is the son of Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame player Scottie Pippen and reality television personality Larsa Pippen as well as the younger brother of current National Basketball Association player, Scotty Pippen Jr.

Life and career

Pippen is the sixth of Scottie Pippen's seven children and his fourth and final son. Born on July 11, 2005 in California, he is the third son and third of four children Pippen has with Larsa Pippen and younger brother of Scotty Pippen Jr.[1] He is first-cousins with Kavion Pippen.[2][3] His half-sister, Taylor Pippen, was an All-American volleyball player at Southern Illinois University.[4] In four seasons playing for the Sierra Canyon HS Trailblazers, the team achieved 3 20-win seasons and an overall four-year record of 91-22.[5] The 2022–23 team saw senior Ashton Hardaway (son of Penny) join Bronny James and Bryce James during Pippen's junior year.[6] In October 2022, Pippen was on an Overtime Elite team of California players featuring the James brothers, Hardaway and Drew Fisher (son of Derek).[7]

Rather than play on the AAU summer circuit before his senior year, he spent time practicing with his older brother, Scotty Pippen Jr., doing NBA offseason workout sessions that at times included Kenyon Martin Jr., Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Kevin Durant. Among Pippen's teammates in high school were Isaiah Elohim, Bronny James and Amari Bailey, and he attributes his defensive skills to practicing against James and Bailey, especially as an on-ball defender.[8] Like his older brother, who had no offers until the end of his junior year of high school, he was a basketball late bloomer.[9] His father averaged just 4.3 points per game as a freshman in college.[10]

One of his biggest games was a 24-point (21-point second half) performance in a 74–68 win over USA Today number three ranked Harvard-Westlake to bring Sierra Canyon's record to 21–1 on January 19, 2024.[11] Pippen made 6 three-point shots.[12] Sierra trailed the defending state Open Division champions and Los Angeles Times number one ranked team by 8 points with six minutes left before posting an 18–0 run.[13]

As a senior, Pippen averaged 16.5 points, 4.9 assists & 4.5 rebounds,[5] and he was a top 100 member of the national class of 2024.[10] 247Sports listed him with a 71st in its composite ranking for the 2024 class.[14] He took official visits to UC Santa Barbara, Texas A&M and Michigan before choosing Michigan over offers from Cal, Florida, Texas A&M and Stanford.[8] Pippen was going to sign with Cal,[15] but Michigan became a late contender for his services when Dusty May was hired to replace Juwan Howard as head coach and recruited Pippen as a combo guard.[16]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Justin Pippen
CG		 Chatsworth, California Sierra Canyon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Apr 19, 2024 
Recruit ratings: Rivals: 4/5 stars   247Sports: 4/5 stars   ESPN: 4/5 stars   (84)
Overall recruit ranking:    Rivals: 77, 16 (PG)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Michigan 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  • "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved April 5, 2024.

College

Pippen played in 28 games off the bench for the 2024–25 Michigan Wolverines averaging 1.6 points in 6.7 minutes per game.[5] He only played 10 or more minutes five times.[17] Pippen posted his season high 10 points on December 22, 2024 against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. He also posted career bests at the time in rebounds (4) and assists (2).[18] Pippen's last game appearance for Michigan was in the March 9 regular season finale in the rivalry game 79–62 loss against Michigan State where he chipped in 2 points and an assist.[14] That season Michigan achieved 27 wins (finishing second in the Big Ten regular season standings), won the 2025 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, and reached the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[10][19] Pippen entered the NCAA transfer portal while the team was still alive in the Sweet Sixteen round of the tournament.[17]

In his first 10 appearances for the 2025–26 Cal Bears, he started at point guard, scored at least 13 points in nine of them, and took the team lead in assists, steals, and blocked shots.[15] On December 2, Pippen contributed 23 points against Utah to lead Cal to a 79–72 victory and the school's first 7–1 start since the 2016–17 Bears team.[20][21] On December 9, Pippen posted a game-high and career-high 24 points in a 93–71 victory against NCAA Division II Dominican Penguins .[22] Pippen was sidelined for the December 13 victory over Northwestern State and his efforts were missed on both ends of the court.[23] The victory gave Cal its first 10–1 start since the 2014–15 team.[24] After being sidelined for two games,[25] Pippen returned on December 21 to help Cal defeat Columbia to reach 12–1.[26] The last time the school started 12–1 had been the 1959–60 team that entered the 1960 NCAA University Division basketball tournament with one loss and were national runner-up.[20] On January 17, Pippen posted 19 points, including 2 free throws with 10 seconds remaining, and 5 assists in a victory against No. 14-ranked North Carolina.[27] He followed that up with 18 points and 6 assists in the January 24 rivalry game victory against Stanford.[28]

Notes

  1. ↑ LaCroix, Emy (November 10, 2025). "Scottie Pippen's Children: Everything to Know". People. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  2. ↑ Scott Gleeson (October 8, 2019). "Warriors sign Scottie Pippen's 6-foot-10 nephew to bulk up frontcourt". USA Today. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  3. ↑ Egan, Brendon (May 26, 2023). "NBA great Scottie Pippen has always been in Nelson Giants' import's corner". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ Tom Weber (December 27, 2017). "Kavion Pippen not consumed with trying to live up to family name". Carbondale Times. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "10: Justin Pippen". Cal Athletics. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  6. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (August 8, 2022). "Sierra Canyon basketball adds another son of an NBA player". Los Angeles Times (Online). ProQuest 2699735164. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  7. ↑ Burns, Gabriel (October 21, 2022). "Overtime Elite exhibition brings out top prospects, lively crowd". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ProQuest 2726828756. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Peek, Krysten (April 19, 2024). "Justin Pippen, Scottie Pippen's youngest son, commits to Michigan". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  9. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (November 21, 2023). "Justin Pippen continues his rise as top guard for Sierra Canyon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Faraudo, Jeff (October 26, 2025). "Cal's Justin Pippen Ready for Chapter 2 in His Hoops Career". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  11. ↑ Newman, Logan (January 20, 2024). "The sons of Scottie Pippen and Master P took down the No. 3 team in back-to-back games". USA Today. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  12. ↑ Fattal, Tarek (January 20, 2025). "Justin Pippen 'grew up' in Sierra Canyon's victory over Harvard-Westlake: Southern California boys basketball scores, stats, updates (1/19/2024)". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  13. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (January 20, 2024). "Prep basketball roundup: Justin Pippen leads rally by Sierra Canyon over No. 1 Harvard-Westlake". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Salerno, Cameron (April 8, 2025). "Justin Pippen, son of NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, commits to Cal after playing one season at Michigan". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Kahn, Andrew (December 15, 2025). "Ex-Michigan basketball player starring for new team as sophomore". MLive.com. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  16. ↑ Borzello, Jeff; Biancardi, Paul (April 19, 2024). "Justin Pippen, son of Scottie Pippen, commits to Michigan". ESPN. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  17. 1 2 Ruiz, Joaquin (April 8, 2025). "Justin Pippen, son of NBA great, transfers to Cal from Michigan". The Daily Californian. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  18. ↑ Mahoney, Matthew (December 22, 2024). "U-M Bounces Back with Win Over Purdue Fort Wayne". MGoBlue.com. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Justin Pippen Joins Golden Bears". California Golden Bears. May 1, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  20. 1 2 Faraudo, Jeff (December 3, 2025). "Dai Dai Ames, Justin Pippen Power Cal to its Best Start in Nine Seasons". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Ames scores 25 and Pippen adds 23 as Cal holds off Utah, 79-72". ESPN. Associated Press. December 2, 2025. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Pippen scores 24 points, helps Cal beat Division II-member Dominican of California 93-71". ESPN. Associated Press. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  23. ↑ Ngo, Kyle (December 15, 2025). "Bears exorcise Northwestern State Demons, improve to 10-1". The Daily Californian. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Camden scores 25 points, Cal pulls away late to beat Northwestern State 79-70". ESPN. Associated Press. December 13, 2025. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  25. ↑ Curtis, Jake (December 21, 2025). "Cal Beats Columbia for Ninth Straight Win". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Dai Dai Ames scores 21 and California defeats Columbia 74-56". ESPN. Associated Press. December 21, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  27. ↑ "California hands No. 14 North Carolina its second straight loss in Bay Area, 84-78". ESPN. Associated Press. January 17, 2026. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Camden hits 5 3s, scores 25 to help Cal beat Stanford 78-66, snap 5-game skid in series". ESPN. Associated Press. January 24, 2026. Retrieved January 26, 2026.