Thomas Bryant couldn’t imagine that after being abandoned by the Lakers for 4 years, he would play the role of “savior” in so many games when he returned to the Lakers.
On January 8, Beijing time, Bryant started for 34 minutes. He made 12 out of 14 shots and scored 29 points, 14 rebounds, 1 snatch and 1 cap out of 5 free throws. The Lakers were able to beat the King for 5 consecutive wins with 136-134. Bryant played an important role. He jumped behind Sabonis from childhood and grabbed the offensive rebound under the condition of unfavorable position. There was also a fourth period of time when he bent down and gasped.
In the last 7 games, Bryant’s performance increased, with an average of 19.7 points and 12 rebounds, field goal percentage 73.8 percent. During Anthony Davis’s absence, Bryant took up the insider.
Bryant’s defense is not comparable to Davis’s, but Bryant does not lose anyone in the league than the ability to finish the basket. Perhaps most people will not remember that Bryant was already the king of the league’s end efficiency before his knee was seriously injured, and he was only in the second grade at that time. What’s more, now he is surrounded by two historical passers, LeBlanc James and Russell Westbrook, delivering shells to him.
Being ordered in danger, Nirvana was reborn. Bryant wrote a great story.
Bryant was chosen by jazz in the 42nd round of the draft in 2017 and then sent to the Lakers. At that time, Bryant was not a top basketball Terminator. Little ball became popular, and Bryant began to transform into space-type No. 5 position following the trend. In the 2017-18 season, Bryant played only 15 games in the Lakers, with an average score of 1.5 points. The data was bleak. Most of the time he played for the Lakers in South Bay. There, nearly half of Bryant’s shots were concentrated in downtown, and he also shot 36.4 percent of the three points, with 19.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 cap.
However, during the 2018 offseason, the Lakers made a questionable decision. They chose to cut Bryant, who was still in the rookie contract period, and only made up 1.4 million dollars for more salary space. Brian Athletic, a journalist who worked in The Kamenetzky at that time, complained in The article: “The Lakers released a talented player for nothing.”
The wizard claimed Bryant’s contract, and Scott Brooks, then the wizard coach, also started the transformation plan for Bryant. Brooks knew Bryant could vote for three points, but he didn’t want his disciples to be a space center. He asked Bryant to attack rim fiercely after every cover and form a partner with Bradley-Bill and John-wall.
“I have been immersed in NBA for 30 years, and I have seen many players in the pan. If you don’t want to be a passer in NBA, you have to work hard to polish the skills you don’t master.” Brooks advised Bryant to transform into a basket-end Center.
Bryant accepted the suggestion. In the 2018-19 season, 51 percent of his shots were concentrated within 3 feet of the basket, with a hit rate of 82 percent. He hit 79.9% in restricted area near the basket, the first in the league and the King of end efficiency in restricted area near the basket. In the 2019-20 season, Bryant, who just signed a 3-year renewal contract of 25 million dollars, declined in termination efficiency, but the hit rate of 78.5 percent within 3 feet and 75.9 percent in restricted area near the basket is still the top level.
“I know one thing about Bryant. He is a very hard-working good boy. He plays with passion and can provide whatever you want.” Brooks said that his transformation of Bryant was very successful.
During the off-season in 2020, Wei Shao joined the Wizards, Brooks and Wei Shao masters and disciples gathered again. Brooks knew that the biggest beneficiary of weishao joining the Wizards would be Bryant, who told Bryant: “Be prepared for the arrival of the strongest season in your career! You will get a lot of easy opportunities.”
The arrival of weishao really released the strongest version of Bryant. He scored 14.3 points and 6.1 rebounds with a field goal percentage of 64.8 percent, and his hit rate within 3 feet was as high as 91.2 percent. When Bryant received weishao’s pass, his hit rate reached 85.7 percent.
Bill used a vulgar comment: “The sky is his limit.”
Bryant was heading for the peak, but suddenly fell halfway down the mountain. On January 10, 2021, Bryant started to play at 1 minute 53 seconds and left seriously. The examination results showed that his left knee anterior cross ligament was torn, and he could only accept the reality of season reimbursement. The serious injury had a great impact on Bryant. He took a rest for a whole year before he came back. After returning, his body and competitive state were obviously poor. The efficiency of the 2021-22 season plummeted and finally lost his position.
During the off-season in 2022, Bryant became a free agent. At that time, it was widely believed that Bryant was not a player of the basic salary level, and there must be a team to give him a contract higher than the basic salary. But in the end, Bryant accepted the basic salary contract of the Lakers to join.
This is a very cost-effective signing. The Athletic Lakers accompanying reporter Jovan Buha explained that: “Bryant brought The Lakers’ body shape, helping The Lakers further achieve younger lineup and strengthen internal defense. After a serious knee injury, he should rebound in the new season. He is less than 25 years old. For the Lakers, this is a very smart gambling signing. He can improve the Lakers’ strength in the front court.”
At the beginning of the season, Bryant missed the first 13 games due to injuries, and then rarely reused because Davis played the starting center. But Bryant was the kind of microwave player who gave him the chance and he could grasp it. There was a history-level organizational ability bonus of James and WIU. He quickly became the inner pillar after Davis was injured.
On December 19, 2022, playing the Wizard, Bryant scored 16 points and 10 rebounds, and finished the final slam dunk. In the last 7 games, Bryant scored double and 5 rebounds were double.
Bryant’s defense is still unreliable most of the time. In the age of Wizards, he did not learn how to prevent blocking and dismantling efficiently, and his sense of defensive position was not good. After the knee injury, Bryant’s movement ability and explosive power declined compared with the past. In Hamm’s defense system, he could not take into account both the blocking and dismantling of the ball holder and the cover man. But during this period of time, Brian was particularly able to ensure that he could hold up the No. 5 position of the Lakers by attacking, when he scored 116.4 points in the 100 rounds of the Lakers.
Wei Shao and James have given Bryant 52 assists so far in the season, and he hit 60% when he received the pass from the two. Bryant hit 79.8 percent in restricted area near the basket, a small gap from 81.3 percent of Craxton, the final king of the season. Bryant didn’t shoot much in three points, but he hit three points many times at the critical moment. In addition, Bryant scored 1.32 points per round and 1.34 points per round for the second attack, which was the highest record in his career.
Bryant is saving his career and helping the Lakers rewrite their fate.
When Davis was injured and fell, the Lakers seemed to be falling into the bottomless abyss. If the Lakers resigned and chose to give up at that time, what was waiting for them was an endless downhill road. However, no one gave up this Lakers. Even though the tide of more violent injuries hit, they still won a 5-game winning streak, only one victory away from the 6th Clippers in the West, rekindling the playoff hopes.