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Why Scotty Pippen Jr. wears Ja Morant shoes not available to any other NBA player
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- Why Scotty Pippen Jr. wears Ja Morant shoes not available to any other NBA player
Scotty Pippen Jr. is no stranger to having exclusive access to Nike basketball apparel. His father, Scottie Pippen, had his own signature sneaker with Nike, and the younger Pippen took full advantage.
The son now is taking advantage of the fact that he's the only Memphis Grizzlies player other than Ja Morant who wears a size 12 shoe.
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After joining the Grizzlies last season, Pippen was asked his shoe size by Morant. When Morant found out that the two shared the same size, Pippen was given an opportunity that no other player in the NBA currently has.
With the Grizzlies star now mostly wearing Ja 2's, Morant has essentially passed the torch to Pippen as the new king of the Ja 1's. Pippen has worn a few PE (Player Exclusive) Ja 1 colorways through the first quarter of the season, and he hints that there is more on the way.
"Shoutout to Nike for hooking me up," Pippen said. "I definitely want to support Ja. I like them a lot."
"A lot of dudes want them, but they ain't Scotty, man," Morant said. " . . . He get special privileges."
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Scotty Pippen Jr. has exclusive access to Ja 1 shoes
Grizzlies players always get the first look. Pippen has worn three PE colorways in games this season, and his teammates are curious.
Desmond Bane and Jake LaRavia are among the Memphis players who have worn Ja 1's or 2's at some point this season, but neither has access to what Pippen has pulled out of the closest.
"I been asking him, like, where that come from?" Bane said. "He talking about, 'I got a plug.' "
That plug is none other than Morant. When Morant gets PE sneakers from Nike, he's usually given two pairs. One goes to himself. Sometimes his father, Tee Morant, will get the other pair. When he doesn't, many of the colorways are given to Pippen.
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"Everyone is like, where you get them from?" Pippen said. "I'm like chill, chill. I always try to downplay it."
LaRavia has tried to make his pitch. When he sees Pippen in PEs, he goes straight to Morant.
But like several others, LaRavia encounters the same problem. He wears a size 15.
"If your feet big, I try," Morant said.
King of the hill
Pippen has only occasionally worn his PE Ja 1's while mixing in some of the more popular colorways. Morant accuses him of "gatekeeping," and Pippen doesn't think he's wrong.
Pippen likes to match his sneaker colorways with jerseys, so he's more selective in breaking out PEs.
Morant wore the Ja 1's exclusively from December 2022 until a January 2024 injury. Between injuries and suspensions, he didn't get to unleash several planned Ja 1 PE colorways.
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Now that the Grizzlies star has elevated to Ja 2 status, he's willing to pass the Ja 1 crown. There are a few players who faithfully wear Ja 1's like LaRavia and T.J. McConnell of the Indiana Pacers , but Pippen has become the new king of Ja 1's.
"He's got it," LaRavia said. "He's got way more colorways than I do."
"It's got to be me, right," Pippen said. "You see I got the stuff that nobody got."
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com . Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Scotty Pippen Jr. wears Ja Morant shoes not available to NBA players
