As Lakers’ Bynum Grows, So Does His Game
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Andrew Bynum, 19, is averaging 18 minutes, 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a game this season for the Lakers.
By LIZ ROBBINS; Published: December 22, 2006
Signs of a mustache and a peach-fuzzy goatee started appearing on the 19-year-old Andrew Bynum’s cherubic face about the time his coach put him into the starting lineup early this season.
The hair is still growing and so is Bynum, the 7-foot, 275-pound second-year center for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is back to coming off the bench since center Kwame Brown returned from injury and since Coach Phil Jackson wanted to see more maturity, if not consistency, from him.
As the No. 10 overall draft pick in 2005 out of St. Joseph’s High School in Metuchen, N.J., Bynum is starting to understand the depth of that responsibility. When he forgets, he has plenty of mentors to remind him.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a Lakers legend and a special assistant, has been Bynum’s coach and history teacher the past two years. Jackson has been stern but encouraging. But the strongest voice just may belong to Janet McCoy — Bynum’s mother.
“I tell him all the time, just ’cause you’re an N.B.A. player, you’re still my son,” McCoy said at a game in Los Angeles two weeks ago. She moved from New Jersey last year to live with Bynum. “We come from the school of spanking and punishment. He still has to take out the garbage. We stick to that.”
On Wednesday in Minnesota, Bynum was the one doing the spanking with four blocked shots and nine rebounds as he helped the Lakers outscore the Timberwolves, 34-7, in the fourth quarter of a 111-94 victory. When Bynum played his idol — Tim Duncan of the Spurs — in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, Bynum blocked one of his shots, made a hook shot over him and took a charge.
“He’s my favorite player, so it gives me more energy to go out there against him,” Bynum said yesterday in Manhattan, where the Lakers practiced for their game tonight against the Nets.
Showing energy, a product of diet and effort, has been Bynum’s challenge even as McCoy hired a nutritionist so he would cut out his junk food. After averaging only seven minutes a game last season, Bynum is now averaging 18 minutes, 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. He started the first 14 games.
Bynum says he does not regret his decision to enter the draft rather than play at Connecticut. But in an interview in Los Angeles recently, he considered the question of a do-over for his rookie season.
“Learn how to work faster than I did,” he said. “I thought I would come in and play a lot, and that doesn’t happen. I was like, ‘Man I don’t know what the point of this is.’
“This summer, I put in a lot of work and put in improvements to my game. If I had done that earlier, it might have happened for me earlier.”
Abdul-Jabbar was heartened to hear that. “He’s starting to get an understanding of the time he wasted,” he said in Los Angeles. “He was having fun, he’s 18 years old. I’m glad I’ve been a parent and I understood that and I didn’t let it become too much of an issue. Given his work ethic and his desire to do well, I knew he’d get past it, and I think he has.”
Jackson, who also has perspective from when his own children were in college and, like Bynum, probably playing video games, clarified his view of hard work.
“It’s about how to work, more than anything else,” Jackson said. “He comes and does what he’s supposed to do. We think he’s a great kid, he’s got a great future, he’s smart, he’s fun to be around. He’s got really a nice touch. What we’re trying to do is mold a player to be an elite player.”
Last season, Abdul-Jabbar worked with Bynum for an hour before each practice. This season, it has been for 30 minutes.
“He’s tried to give me the sky hook,” said Bynum, having seen it on ESPN Classic. “It’s a tough shot to pull off. It’s a great shot, I’m taking my time with it.”
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As Lakers’ Bynum Grows, So Does His Game
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