Shareef O’Neal and Scotty Pippen Jr. join the Los Angeles Lakers.Photo: Randy Belice/Getty; Chris Schwegler/Getty
TheLos Angeles Lakershave signed Shareef O’Neal and Scotty Pippen Jr. to two-way contracts with the team.
Shareef will play for the purple and gold during next month’s Summer League, according toShams Charania of The Athletic, who was first to report the news. The 6-foot-10 power forward struggled during his last season at LSU, following a series of setbacks with his health.
Scotty, 21, is the son of six-time NBA championScottie Pippen.
Larsa Pippen’s son, whose first name is pronounced like his father’s despite a slight spelling change, went undrafted in both rounds of the NBA Draft on Thursday before receiving the call from the NBA team.
Shareef and Shaquille O’Neal.Cassy Athena/Getty
The younger Scotty will enter the league after three years of playing forVanderbilt’s Commodores, according to The Athletic. He averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals during his time with the university.
Both players shared the exciting news on social media after their deals were made. “Dream come true,” Scottywrote.
Shareef went to the family video archives to share an adorable childhood video of himself at a Laker game during his dad’s reign with the team. “Thank you for this opportunity,” he wrote.
Surprisingly, however, Shareefrevealed earlier this weekthat his Hall of Famer father didn’t want his son to enter the draft this year.
Shareef reported to a workout with the team on Tuesday, where he explained how his journey to the league starkly differs from his father’s.
Scottie Pippen.Noam Galai/Getty
“I went through some things that he didn’t go through,” the young athlete noted. “He was the No. 1 pick in the draft,” Shareef explained. “I kind of had to grind to get here. I had to grind a lot. I had to go through some stuff these past four years –– foot injuries, heart surgeries,” he revealed.
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“He wanted me to stay in school,” Shareef told the outlet. “He knows I’m working out with teams. But I’m not going to lie, we ain’t talked about this. I’m kind of just going through it.”
NBA Summer Leaguebegins July 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
source: people.com
