The life of an NBA player includes playing on the road for one-half of the 82-game regular season. Depending on the schedule, there are seasons when a player spends more days away than at home.
Because of that, some NBA wives travel with their husbands on the road, and others even bring the kids along. But while it’s not unusual for spouses to travel to the city where their NBA star husbands are playing, they usually travel separately and stay in their own hotels.
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However, Larsa Pippen was different. According to Scottie Pippen’s good buddy John Salley, Scottie’s former bride not only traveled to every road game with the team but also flew with it.
“She was on the road all the time, I think in Houston,” said Salley. “She was always on the road, always going places with them. She needs that up close, tight validation.”
Larsa did not do much during the early years of their marriage
Not much is known about Larsa before she married Scottie in 1997. And she did not really have a known gig until she appeared on “The Real Housewives of Miami” in 2011. Meanwhile, Pip was on top of the world in 1998 after the Bulls‘ second three-peat. He signed a five-year, $67 million contract before getting traded to the Houston Rockets.
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With her husband having all that dough while she had little to do, and they were just two years into their marriage, maybe they decided it would be best if she came along on every road trip.
However, when Vlad asked if it was common that wives or girlfriends tagged along in every road game, Salley said, “Never, you just don’t do that. No one brings their wife to work. It’s not “Bring your wife to work day.”
“She flew on the same plane,” he added when asked how Larsa traveled. “That’s what I heard. That’s exactly what I said. One, how do you do that?”
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It cost the Orlando Magic the chance to sign Duncan
Generally, players’ wives, girlfriends, and even family members were not allowed to travel with them on the team plane back then because it was considered a business environment, and teams wanted to maintain that focus, especially on the way to a road game.
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But the topic became controversial in 2000, when the Orlando Magic supposedly lost the opportunity to sign Tim Duncan because then-head coach Doc Rivers told him that his girlfriend could not fly with them on the team plane. Hall of Famer Grant Hill confirmed that story.
“Not only have I heard that, but I was there,” Hill told his ESPN “The Jump” co-hosts, including Paul Pierce, in 2018. “I made my visit with Tim Duncan. I was at the dinner when someone in Tim’s entourage, I’ll just leave it that way, asked Doc, ‘Can significant others travel on the plane?’ And Doc said no.”
Looking back, if John’s story is true, it’s crazy how the Rockets allowed Larsa to fly with them on the team plane on every road trip while Doc refused to give Timmy the same privilege. But that’s another story.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.