Amid Bronny James and Shedeur Sanders Drama, Scotty Pippen Jr. Opens Up on Having a HOF Father

It is extremely hard for children of sports superstars to follow in their parents’ footsteps. More often than not, they are unable to reach those legendary heights. The media coverage doesn’t help in their pursuit of greatness. This is extremely apparent with Lakers guard Bronny James and recent NFL-draftee Shedeur Sanders. Plenty of drama has been sparked by the young athletes. Scotty Pippen Jr. also inserted himself into the conversation and opened up about having a Hall-of-Fame father.

There are plenty of players in the NBA whose fathers once played. Only a small fraction of those players had fathers who were NBA legends. The media has covered Bronny the most out of those players due to his father being LeBron James.

He isn’t the only player who holds familial ties to NBA royalty. Scotty Pippen Jr. is the son of none other than Bulls legend Scottie Pippen. His father won six NBA championships alongside Michael Jordan. Those are some incredibly big shoes for Pippen Jr. to fill.

Pippen Jr. has been able to navigate his unique career path in the NBA. In a guest appearance on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back, he reveals difficulties that come with having an NBA legend as a father.

“I think it’s difficult because people just put a perspective on you on how they think you move and act,” Pippen Jr. said. “For me, I thought it was tough because I felt I wasn’t getting fair treatment. The name might’ve hurt me more than it helped me.”

LeBron James, Deion Sanders and Scottie Pippen set high expectations for their sons, but Bronny, Shedeur and Scotty Jr. have already shown they’re up for the challenge 💪

Scotty Jr. says he’s been overlooked because of the Pippen last name, but that won’t happen again if he… pic.twitter.com/SeHaOipPX7

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 29, 2025

Pippen Jr. understands the struggles that Shedeur and Bronny are enduring. He also feels that he didn’t receive fair treatment during his upbringing. Regardless, he believes they are both doing well and making the most out of their situation.

People become clouded due to who Sheduer and Bronny’s fathers are. It’s impossible to live up to what they accomplished since they are completely different people. Specifically because they both play different positions than their fathers.

Deion Sanders primarily played cornerback in the NFL, while Shedeur is a quarterback. On the other hand, Bronny is a 6-foot-2 guard, while LeBron is a 6-foot-9 forward.

Regardless, Bronny has been a subject of media scrutiny since he entered the NBA. Shedeur is now receiving intense media coverage following his unfortunate slide in the NFL Draft.

Skip Bayless can’t believe how far Shedeur fell in the NFL Draft

Ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders ranked as one of the best prospects. Many different mocks had him going in the top 10 and even in contention for the first overall pick. Certainly in the first round at the very least. That was far from the reality.

Shedeur inexplicably slid to the fifth round before the Browns selected him with the 144th pick. People across sports couldn’t believe so many teams passed on the Colorado quarterback. Sports analyst Skip Bayless was among those who believed Sanders should’ve gone much higher.

“The damnedest, most disgusting, most despicable, most shocking, most preposterous plunge in the history of the NFL Draft is finally over,” Bayless said. “Shedeur Sanders should’ve gone first overall to Tennessee.”

The damnedest story in the history of the NFL Draft, I mean, literally the damnedest, most disgusting, most despicable, most shocking, most preposterous plunge in the history of the NFL Draft is finally over pic.twitter.com/FhRIaSs5Vx

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 27, 2025

Not only does Bayless believe Sanders should’ve gone higher, but he believes he should’ve been the first player to hear their name called. That didn’t turn out to be the case, but Sanders now has an immense chip on his shoulder. He will do everything in his power to prove the doubters wrong.