Defense isn’t just a skill in the Pippen family. It’s a birthright. Scottie Pippen made the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight consecutive times during his Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bulls, helping anchor one of the greatest defensive dynasties basketball has ever seen. Now his youngest son, Justin Pippen, is carrying that same identity into the Big Ten, having committed to Ohio State this offseason as the Buckeyes look to fix a defense that has badly needed his kind of disruption.
Here’s a full breakdown of Justin Pippen’s game, his winding path through college basketball, and why he might be exactly what Ohio State needs heading into the 2026-27 season.
The Pippen Defensive Bloodline
To understand what Justin Pippen brings to the floor, it helps to understand the standard his father set. Scottie Pippen was a seven-time NBA All-Star, a six-time NBA champion, and a member of the league’s 50 Greatest Players list but it’s his defensive résumé that separates him from most of his era’s stars. Eight straight All-Defensive First Team selections is a mark of sustained, elite perimeter defense that few players in NBA history can match.
That legacy clearly made an impression at home. Justin has talked openly about how competitive backyard games with his father and older brothers shaped his approach to the sport. “Very competitive. A lot of people crying. Very competitive,” he recalled of those pickup games growing up. It’s not hard to see where the edge in his game comes from.
Justin isn’t the only Pippen carrying the torch, either. His older brother, Scotty Pippen Jr., is entering his fifth NBA season and fourth with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he’s become a key rotation piece. Defense, as Justin put it himself, is something of a family assignment: “I feel like also my family, my dad’s a defender, my brother’s a defender, so I kind of feel like I had to take over the legacy with that.”
Justin Pippen’s Winding Road to Columbus
Pippen’s path to Ohio State has been anything but a straight line. A four-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California — where he played alongside LeBron James’s sons, Bronny and Bryce Pippen originally committed to Michigan, becoming head coach Dusty May’s first-ever high school recruit there. His freshman season, however, was a difficult one: he appeared in 28 games but averaged just 1.6 points in a reserve role, and dealt with concussion symptoms late in the year that kept him off the floor during Michigan’s NCAA Tournament run.
Pippen entered the transfer portal after that freshman season and landed at California, where everything changed. In his lone season with the Golden Bears, he started all 32 games and emerged as one of the ACC’s most dynamic two-way guards, averaging 14.2 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game while leading Cal with 1.9 steals per game. He finished the year with 61 steals the fourth-best single-season total in program history while also adding 19 blocks, tied for second-most on the roster.
Cal head coach Mark Madsen didn’t hold back when describing what he saw. “I think Justin’s one of the top defensive players in the country,” Madsen said. “He almost always leads us in deflections. We’re never afraid to put him on the other team’s best player.” That reputation was built on performances like his defensive effort against Stanford, where he held the Cardinal’s high-scoring freshman to 1-of-16 shooting from the field.
After that breakout year, Pippen re-entered the transfer portal and committed to Ohio State on April 10, 2026, choosing to return to the Big Ten as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining.
Why Ohio State Needed Exactly This
Ohio State’s pursuit of Pippen wasn’t a coincidence it directly addresses one of the program’s most glaring weaknesses. The Buckeyes finished outside the top 50 nationally in adjusted defense for six consecutive seasons through 2025-26, a stretch that included a first-round NCAA Tournament exit to TCU this past March. For a program with Ohio State’s talent level and expectations, that kind of defensive inconsistency has been a persistent problem, and head coach Jake Diebler made it clear that fixing it was a priority heading into his third season in charge.
Pippen checks that box about as directly as any transfer portal addition could. Growing up under a father with eight All-Defensive First Team nods and a brother known for his own defensive intensity, buying into that end of the floor was never optional. “I enjoy playing defense 100 percent,” Pippen said after committing to Ohio State. “I want to be a physical defender, so I feel like I kind of want to set the tone for this team on the defensive end.”
More Than Just a Stopper
What makes Pippen such an intriguing addition is that he isn’t a one-dimensional defensive specialist. His breakout season at Cal showed a player capable of scoring in volume, distributing at a high level, and defending at an elite standard all at once a rare combination for a 6-foot-3 combo guard. He was one of the ACC’s most productive offensive players last season, finishing top-15 in the conference in both assists and points produced per game, while still ranking among the league’s best in steals and defensive rating.
At Ohio State, Pippen joins a backcourt that already includes John Mobley Jr., who tested the NBA Draft waters before returning to school, and returning wing Bynum, giving Diebler a trio of experienced, versatile perimeter players to build around. Pippen has already faced Mobley in high school and watched Bynum’s freshman season up close, and he’s cited both players along with Diebler’s program-building trajectory as reasons the fit made sense.
Since arriving on campus for summer workouts, Pippen has already begun building chemistry with his new teammates and coaching staff. “It’s been great,” Pippen said of working with Diebler. “He’s been pushing me a lot. He’s definitely getting me better, so I look forward to playing during the season.”
The Family Watching Closely
Even now, Scottie Pippen remains deeply involved in his son’s basketball journey, regularly attending games and staying in close contact before and after matchups. “He’s my biggest critic,” Justin has said of his father. That kind of accountability, paired with the standard Scottie set across his own Hall of Fame career, has clearly shaped the player Ohio State is getting someone who treats defense not as an obligation, but as a family expectation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Justin Pippen? Justin Pippen is a college basketball guard and the youngest son of NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. He has played for Michigan, California, and is now transferring to Ohio State for the 2026-27 season.
How many times was Scottie Pippen named to the NBA All-Defensive Team? Scottie Pippen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight consecutive times during his career with the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets.
What were Justin Pippen’s stats at Cal? In his one season at California, Pippen averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and a team-leading 1.9 steals per game, finishing with 61 total steals the fourth-most in a single season in program history.
Why did Justin Pippen transfer to Ohio State? Pippen committed to Ohio State after entering the transfer portal for a second time, joining a Buckeyes program looking to improve a defense that had finished outside the top 50 nationally in adjusted efficiency for six straight seasons.
Is Justin Pippen related to Scotty Pippen Jr.? Yes. Scotty Pippen Jr., who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, is Justin Pippen’s older brother.
Final Word
Ohio State didn’t just add a scorer or a playmaker this offseason they added a player whose defensive identity was forged by one of the greatest perimeter defenders in NBA history. Justin Pippen’s path through Michigan and Cal wasn’t linear, but it led him to a breakout season and, now, to a Big Ten program that needs exactly what he does best. If the Pippen family legacy holds true in Columbus, Ohio State’s defense may finally have the identity it’s been missing.
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