Lakers Player Spotlight: Brandon Bass
- Updated: October 2, 2015
In a city that is known for celebrities, movie stars, and great players, Brandon Bass doesn’t necessarily get people excited when it comes to a free agent signing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Today we are going to take a look at Bass and what he can bring to this Lakers team in 2015-2016.
2014 Statistics
10.6 PPG
4.9 RPG
1.3 AST
50% FG
79% FT
Bass is now thirty years of age and entering his 11th season in the NBA. He has spent time with the New Orleans Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, and Boston Celtics before joining the Lakers. For me personally I remember watching Bass on the Magic playing behind Hedo Turkoglu and beside Dwight Howard.
Going to Magic games was always fun for me and I would always to try to buy a ticket as close as possible so I could admire the physical specimens that professional athletes are. Of course Howard was Superman but Bass was also extremely strong and had excellent lower body strength and I always respected that. Bass knew that he was never going to get more tick that Turk or D12 but he still put in that extra time in the weight room as he was determined to make a difference for that team.
After his time in Orlando, Bass joined the Celtics and got extended minutes and his numbers were nothing that make headlines about but he contributed every single night. In fact Bass’ true shooting percentage of 55.7% is slightly higher than the league average at the power forward position. The durability he was able to maintain in Boston is something that the Lakers definitely benefit from as well. It seemed like everyone on the team last year suffered some type of injury issue and if Bass is able to provide consistent solid minutes for the Lakers every night, that can go a long way into building a model of consistency in a positive way for the club.
In a column written in the Los Angeles Times, Bass discussed how he wanted to be a mentor to some of the young Laker players as some of the older players mentored him in his earlier days. One of the staples in Bass’ game is his ability to pop on the pick and rolls, and that is something he credits to David West from his days’ in New Orleans.
Bass and Head Coach Byron Scott also have history together when Scott was coaching New Orleans. The two of them are familiar with each other’s approach to the game and Scott is looking forward to the mentorship Bass can provide especially to youngster Julius Randle.
I can’t tell how many minutes or how many points Bass will average this next season, but I do know that he and Metta World Peace will be instrumental in the growth and development of Randle. Bass is the ultimately locker room guy who will be able to help change the Lakers’ negative losing acceptance and culture of the last few years and I believe he will be a huge asset on and off the floor.
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