I was going to write this quite some time ago, but life has a way of creating distractions. In addition to that, it was going to be before the NBA All Star Weekend because I just knew that the event would elevate Zach’s public profile yet again, as it did last year. And of course it did, as he returned to win the slam dunk contest for a second time. Eric Gordon deserved to win by the way. Or they should have been co-winners. Reason being, to reference a line from the silly movie, Batman Forever, “Your entrance was good…his was better.” Neither of these two things happened however because the NBA doesn’t know how to run All Star Weekend; but that’s a blog post for another day. Back to the main topic. I had wait for the public fanfare to die down a bit again to make this point I’m about to make.
Zach knows how to ball. Not just dunk. Ball. Beyond that weekend or occasional ESPN highlights, you wouldn’t know it. He’s not in the public eye. Maybe its because his team isn’t winning. Or because he plays in this little spot between California and New York, called America (thanks Hank Hill). Or because, despite having a very solid rookie season, he is only playing 2.2 more minutes per game in his second year and has only started half as many games. I guess that’s what happens when you play point guard and your team already has Ricky Rubio as well as needs some scoring off the bench. Let’s delve into this, shall we?
I hate to compare Zach to an all time great, so bear with me when I say I’m really not. Really. Pardon me ahead of time, Mr. Black Mamba. What I will do though, is compare him to this young kid unproven but full of potential, drafted by Charlotte only to play the next 20 years for the Lakers. Wink Wink. So lets look at some numbers.
They say you can’t compare players of different eras, and they’re right, but I’m about to do it anyways, for the sake of examination. What you have above are the rookie stats of Zach LaVine and Kobe Bryant. The NBA stopped allowing players to enter the draft straight from high school, so you basically have a year difference in age for their rookie seasons, but its easier to compare seasons anyways. So what types of stuff stand out? Well, they’re listed at two different positions, so that has an effect of course, but again, close in age, both guards, and basketball-reference.com lists them within an inch of each other in height. Zach got to start more as a rookie and played more minutes but Kobe was the faster scorer. Zach was the better overall shooter though, including in FT%, and out-averaged him in other areas as well…most likely due to the reasons stated above. Now lets look at their second seasons.
Here’s where it gets really interesting. Or should I say, binteresting? These stats are as of today 3/19/2016 for Zach. Let’s see…ages 20 & 19. 26.9 minutes per game vs 26, so extremely real-world comparable. 11.7 field goals attempted vs 11.6. So close. Who shot better? Zach. 38% for 3’s vs 34.1%. Zach again. He’s not just a dunker folks. 79.9% Free Throw’s vs. 79.4%. 3 Rebounds per game vs 3.1. 3 assists vs 2.5. .8 Steals vs .9. Honestly, could these stats get much closer? Well I could point out that Kobe was also a slam dunk champion, in his rookie season. Or that they were both the 13th overall pick in their respective draft classes. In fact, I didn’t even catch this one until writing this, but Zach wears number 08…the same number Kobe did his first 10 years in the league. If I didn’t know better I would say that Zach is attempting to mirror Kobe. Not because he can control things like what draft pick he ended up at, but because he can control things like where he went to school (UCLA…whose arena is 12-15 miles from the Staples Center) and things like work ethic.
That’s how he really got on my radar in fact. Everyone works hard to play a professional sport, but most don’t last, let alone become a star. Zach didn’t catch my attention for his flashy dunks. Seeing a video last year where he talked about his work ethic did. So I dug it up from the NBA.com archives to include with this post.
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2015/01/18/20150118-rooks-lavine.nba/
In it he is described as being a gym rat. He also conveys his confidence. Some might say it is beyond his years. Remind you of anyone? Bear in mind the video is from January of 2015, before his second season, or even his first dunk contest. I think its safe to say that his numbers a year later reflect everything being said. This kid could be something special.
In doing just a little more digging before I made this post, I found a few more references that confirm to me exactly what I’m talking about. In fact, in essence, I picked up or clued in on what was being conveyed before I’d seen it in words or front and center. In an article on NBA.com dated November 28th 2014, before his first game against the Lakers, Zach described Kobe as “my childhood idol” and states that “I try to model some of my game after him.” Bingo! The same is expressed in videos, such as here where Zach says that he wants to have confidence like the greats including Kobe (his own words). Notice also how it is pointed out that his father played ball professionally too (albeit football) which is pretty much right in alignment with my previous post Bet On NBA Sons.
There is also this, where it is implied that Kobe has potentially offered to work with both Zach and his fellow Timberwolf teammate Andrew Wiggins during this upcoming off season.
That’s because, if it weren’t for what I’m seeing in Zach, or the broad degree of influence on the league of Kobe, this post would have probably had to give more of a shoutout to Andrew Wiggins, another obvious admirer.
Knowing just what they have in Zach (though I’m not yet convinced that the Timberwolves as an organization completely do), if I were any other team in the league I’d be throwing out trade offers at the first opportunity. Not because the Timberwolves will bite, mind you (no pun intended), but because you never know. After all, as Jordan would say, ‘You miss every shot you don’t take.’
-binteresting out
bonteresting.wordpress.com 