What’s in a name? For Scotty Pippen Jr., it’s a legacy, a burden, and now—a source of confusion. While the 24-year-old is steadily carving his own path in the NBA, one lingering mystery from his father’s past has followed him: Is it ‘Scotty’ or ‘Scottie. 

Is it Scotty or Scottie? He is commonly called Pippen Jr. And while one might assume there is a mistake in the young Pippen’s name spelling, there isn’t. Just recently, during his appearance on the latest episode of the Sloane Knows podcast, It appears that the actual discrepancy lies in Pippen Sr.’s name. Despite being popularly known as Scottie, the real spelling of his name is actually Scotty. 

That’s right, the 24-year-old himself revealed that the Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen has his name, “Scotty” on all official documents. However, the 6x NBA champion prefers to write it with “ie” instead of “y” in other places. As he recalled, the young Pippen has always used “y” instead of “ie,” which confused him. 

Calling out his parents, he even suggested that it should be him, rather than his father, who should change his name. “To be honest, I’m still kind of confused on it too. It makes no sense why my parents did that, but basically my dad’s name is with a y, but for some reason, he writes it with an ie on everything, but like his actual, like documents and stuff with. So, I don’t know, I feel like I should have probably been with an IE since he wants to change to.”

The name confusion even made its way to social media, with Pippen’s mother, Larsa Pippen, clarifying the details on X. But while fans were still processing that revelation, Pippen Jr. had something else to add—this time, about how he stacks up against his father on the court.

Scotty Pippen Jr. makes bold claim of his skills

The 24-year-old is quite good, but is he good enough to defeat his father, Pippen, in one part of the game? Scotty says that while his father has an advantage in height, he is better than him offensively. “I feel like his height gives him an advantage. I’m a little quicker, though. I feel, offensively, I’m better than him. I think you gotta put that on (NBA) 2K and see what they do, I guess,” Pippen Jr. said.

The young Pippen is usually known for his defensive game. Just last October, he signed a standard contract with the Grizzlies. An interviewer asked Pippen Jr. whether his father would go easy on him in a one-on-one match. The son was quick to add that his father was too competitive and would not let him win, playing equally hard instead. “Nah, hell no. My dad’s too competitive; he’d never let me win,” he said.

Back in November, Pippen Jr. recorded his first triple-double. He hit 11 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds in a win over the Washington Wizards. With this milestone, Scotty Pippen Jr. and his father have officially entered the record books. They are the first father-son duo to record triple-doubles.

But beyond the stats, this moment signifies something more. Pippen Jr. is no longer just the son of an NBA great. He’s proving that he belongs on the court. He’s making a name for himself in ways that go beyond any spelling confusion. The question that remains now is how far he’ll carry that name.