Scotty Pippen Jr. follows up Darvin Ham callout by dissing Lakers for lack of belief
Scotty Pippen Jr. took a jab at his former team, the LA Lakers, after helping the Memphis Grizzlies secure a commanding 131-114 win over LeBron James and Co. on Wednesday. In his postgame on-court interview, Pippen Jr. admitted he felt extra motivated for the matchup against the Purple and Gold.
The young point guard expressed disappointment, criticizing the Lakers for not believing in his potential during his time with the team.
"Definitely, they didn't believe in me. So I'm out here trying my best," Pippen Jr. said when asked about whether had an extra motivation going up against his former team.
Pippen Jr. delivered an outstanding performance off the bench and orchestrated the team's offense superbly after Ja Morant exited the game with a hamstring injury. The young point guard registered 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and a block while shooting 5 of 9 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
The former Vanderbilt player spent the 2022-23 season with the Lakers, appearing in only six games and averaging 2.3 points per game while shooting 33.3% from the field and beyond the arc.
Pippen Jr.'s criticism of the Lakers came shortly after he also called out their former coach Darvin Ham, now an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks. Following the Grizzlies’ 122-99 victory over the Bucks last week, the young guard publicly criticized Ham for not having faith in his potential during his time with the Lakers.
"One of the coaches over there didn’t believe in me so I definitely wanted to show him I can play some defense," Pippen Jr. had said.
Scotty Pippen Jr.'s tremendous start to the season
Before the season began, the Memphis Grizzlies rewarded Scotty Pippen Jr. with a standard multi-year contract. The young point guard has repaid the franchise’s trust with outstanding performances, making a strong impact early in the season.
The former Vanderbilt star is averaging 11.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 6.4 apg and 1.1 spg off the bench, shooting an impressive 50.0% from the field, including 44.4% from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, with the Lakers struggling to get significant production from their bench, some fans regret that the thriving Pippen Jr. is no longer part of their team.
Also read: “Darvin Ham’s reputation is shot to hell” - Lakers fans have Scotty Pippen Jr.‘s back after Bulls legend’s son fires shots at Bucks assistant