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- NBA great Scottie Pippen will be in Australia for launch of NBL season
- NBL majority owner Larry Kestelman paid $1.2 million to make it happen
- Kestelman has bizarrely made Pippen available to wealthy sports fans
National Basketball League majority owner Larry Kestelman has parted with $1.2million to entice Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen to Australia – and is clearly looking to recoup the large sum of money in the lead up to the AFL Grand Final.
Pippen, 57, won six NBA titles in his decorated career and will be on local shores ahead of the launch of the 2023/24 NBL season.
But before the first tip-off come September 28, when Kestelman’s Melbourne United host cross-town rivals SEM Phoenix at John Cain Arena, Pippen will essentially be readily available to the highest bidder.
Understandably, he won’t come cheap.
For $50,000, footy fans will have the unique opportunity to chat with the small forward at the AFL Grand Final Eve luncheon in Melbourne.
National Basketball League majority owner Larry Kestelman has parted with $1.2 million to bring former Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen (pictured left) to Australia
Pippen won six NBA titles in a decorated career which started in Chicago in 1987 (pictured, with ex-wife Larsa Younan)
NBL majority owner Larry Kestelman (pictured back left, at the Australian Open) is worth an estimated $1.27billion
And it you are willing to cough up $85,000, Pippen will be the star attraction on a luxury cruise around Sydney Harbour with former Bulls teammate Luc Longley.
Kestelman – who will also attend the event – dubbed his super yacht Vegas and it is said to be worth a staggering $13million.
Pippen made his NBA debut in 1987 with the Bulls, and soon became an integral figure on court as Michael Jordan created a sporting dynasty.
He was also sounded out by Longley for a coaching role at the Sydney Kings a couple of years ago, but the stars didn’t align.
‘It would have been a complex one, he doesn’t have a lot of coaching experience, but I do know what his basketball brain is like,’ Longley, who is part of the club’s ownership group, told ESPN.
‘Scottie would have been good at capturing the imaginations of the group and leading them forward.
‘But ultimately we agreed the timing wasn’t right.’
