More than just a hype man.
Now a lot of regular visitors to the site will know that I’m a Warrior through and through, and have been for as long as I’ve been following the sport of basketball. Across that time I’ve seen many players come and go but in recent memory none have I been more sad to see leave Oakland than the man who introduced the world to, ‘Bazemoring’. It’s rare that a player can give so much to a team without seeing a great deal of time on the floor but that’s exactly what Bazemore brought to the Golden State organization. His enthusiasm on the sideline brought himself a league wide fan base and I, for one, will never forget his reactions to two great Harrison Barnes dunks; covering nearly 20 metres following the throwdown on Pekovic, and rejoicing with Draymond Green after Barnes huge reverse in Game 2 of the playoffs v the Nuggets.
Throughout his tenure with the Warriors Bazemore spent a lot of time in Santa Cruz with their D-league affiliate and would always stay behind after games to take photographs with the fans and sign various memorabilia. Every interview he can be seen wearing a grin from cheek to cheek and in a sport where stars attract a lot of criticism it was always refreshing to see a guy who was clearly fulfilling his boyhood dreams of playing in the big league. Clearly both a great teammate and locker room guy Bazemore is also not lacking in basketball ability and he really showed out during this years Las Vegas Summer League where he was awarded the MVP award. In fact, were it not for a big Ginobli three in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-finals Bazemore would also have a clutch game winning layup to his name.
On February 19th Bazemore was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers along with Marshon Brooks with Steve Blake going in the opposite direction and thus began the next chapter in his career. Never one to focus on the negative Bazemore saw this as an opportunity to take his game to the next level. Quickly shedding the tag of being, “that guy with the great celebrations”, The Tiger Within was born and with that came a place in the Lakers starting unit. Through six games with his new team the Lakers are 2-4 but Bazemore has really settled into his new surroundings posting a career high 23 against the league best Indiana Pacers. Since the move his averages of 16.2 points, 2.6 assists, and 3 rebounds with percentages of 45.2 from the field and 38.1 from three are not to be overlooked and his effort on the defensive end has him appearing in the Lakers best lineup in terms of points allowed. Bazemore has also chosen his shots well boasting figures of 16 of 26 in the restricted area, 4 of 5 from the right corner three and 2 of 2 from the left corner (sportsblog.com). If he can keep this level of play up these sort of numbers may well see him highly sought after in the offseason given he becomes a restricted free agent in July.
The undrafted ODU product appears to have bought into what the Lakers and D’Antoni are trying to do and after hearing that Pau Gasol wanted the team to move the ball more Bazemore reacted in his typically humble manner; “Pau’s paid his dues. Out of respect, I’m going to try that route, go through Pau and just learn how to play off him”. It is that attitude that won him so many fans in Oakland and will continue to do so as his career progresses. Bazemore is willing to adapt, and do everything he can to become both a better player and person; characteristics that are in high demand in the NBA.
I remain grateful for everything that Bazemore brought to the Bay Area be that on the court, on the sideline, or to the City itself and wish him the best now his new chapter has begun. Keep ballin’ Kent.
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8O46HxhGD8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7pLmCuJ3I0
And yes, this is a giant cardboard cutout of Bazemore from his ODU days.
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