NBA legend Scottie Pippen’s ex-wife, Larsa Pippen, made headlines in 2020 when she briefly dated Detroit Pistons shooting guard Malik Beasley, who was still married to beauty queen Montana Yao at the time.
While the pair split soon after, Pippen has now admitted that dating Beasley was a mistake on her part.
Scottie Pippen’s Ex-Wife Cites COVID-19 Pandemic As Excuse
Larsa Pippen married the Chicago Bulls star at the height of his basketball career in 1997 when he won his fifth NBA title with the Chicago Bulls. The pair had four children: Scotty Jr., Preston, Justin, and Sophia, before finalizing their divorce in 2021.
Her brief fling with Beasley had started late in 2020 when they were photographed holding hands while shopping together. Beasley’s wife, Montana Yao, said she was shocked to see the photos, writing on Instagram, “Wow … I don’t even know this man.” She added, “This is wild y’all I’m seeing it for the first time just like y’all.”
She had defended her relationship with Beasley by claiming the couple were separated. However, after a few months, she split with Beasley and has now termed the brief fling with Beasley a mistake, blaming it on her “COVID brain.”
“I should have listened to you,” she told the host of The Jason Lee Show, who said he warned the Bravo TV star not to get involved with the much-younger hooper. “That was a mistake,” Pippen said. “But I had COVID brain.”
Pippen further explained that she was bored at home due to the Pandemic, and when Beasley repeatedly asked her out, she complied.
“I was stuck in my house, I hadn’t gone anywhere, and he was there,” she added. “He was like, ‘Let me come see you, let me come see you.’ And I thought, ‘Okay, come see me.'”
Following the split, the situation became more awkward down the road when Beasley and Pippen’s son, Scottie Jr., were teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-23 season. However, she insisted that it was an issue between them.
“They had a conversation when they were on the same team, and it was fine,” she said. “It wasn’t like we had a really bad breakup or anything.”
While Beasley eventually split with Yao in March 2025, the model dated another high-profile figure following the brief fling. She was in a relationship with Marcus Jordan, the son of her ex-husband’s legendary Bulls teammate Michael Jordan, from 2022 to 24 and is currently dating another professional basketball player, 31-year-old Jeff Coby, who played collegiately at Columbia University.
