Parents and children have been a prominent part of the recent NBA history. The 2024-25 season began with LeBron James and Bronny James becoming the First father-son duo in league history. play in the same game, and second-generation players are becoming more prevalent in the NBA as a whole. There are 29 of them total in the league right now, and one of them just joined his dad to make a little history.
Scotty Pippen Jr., the much less publicized son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, had 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Memphis Grizzlies in a 128-104 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday. That gave him the first triple-double of his young NBA career. His father, a six-time champion with the Chicago Bulls, had 17 triple-doubles in his Hall of Fame career. Some useful research reddit revealed that this makes them the first father-son duo in NBA history to record triple-doubles.
So how did it take so long for an NBA family to do this? Well, remember, most of the most famous basketball families are largely based around a single star. Kobe Bryant had 21 triple-doubles in the NBA, for example, but his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, never had one. It’s a similar story for Stephen Curry, who is 10, and his father Dell, who has none. In an ironic case, it is the least famous member of the family who has the triple-doubles. Mychal Thompson has two triple-doubles, for example, but Klay Thompson has yet to record one.
The obvious group that you would think would have had career triple-doubles would be Domantas and Aryvdas Sabonis. Domantas is an All-Star with the Sacrarmento Kings and Arvydas is a Hall of Famer, and both are known for their passing acumen despite playing center. The problem was that the eldest Sabonis did not reach the NBA until he was 31 years old and had to deal with several injuries. The elder Sabonis never reached 10 assists in a game, but he also played 30 minutes per game in only one of his seven NBA seasons.
Putting all that together, a door was opened for the Pippens, but it’s still pretty surprising that they were the family that finally got there. The younger Pippen went undrafted in 2022, and after a stint as a two-way player for the Los Angeles Lakers that didn’t lead to a full-time NBA contract, his long-term career prospects weren’t especially bright. But he took notice of the injury-plagued Grizzlies a year ago and took advantage of all the playing time they could offer. Since then, he has emerged as a viable option on both ends of the floor, defending very well for his size while becoming a solid backup point guard on offense.
While the Pippens may have this title for now, it probably won’t be long before other NBA families join them. One of the best prospects for 2026 NBA Draft is Cameron Boozer, son of former All-Star Carlos Boozer, who had the only triple-double in his career. One day, the Boozers will likely join the Pippens, and at the rate that second-generation players are arriving in the NBA today, more will almost certainly follow.
