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LOS ANGELES -- While everyone else in the Los Angeles Lakers organization was scurrying toward the locker room, toward the celebration, two enormous men were quietly walking away.
The Lakers had just beaten the Spurs in Game 5 to win the Western Conference finals, and in the delirious locker room large men were laughing and screaming like little kids. It was fun to watch, but something else captured my attention. The two largest men in the organization slipped away mostly unnoticed Thursday night.
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| Andrew Bynum has receded to the background -- for now. (Getty Images) |
One of the giants was Andrew Bynum, the Lakers' 7-foot, 285-pound center and the No. 10 overall pick in 2005. Quietly out West, away from the Eastern media and overshadowed by the brilliance of Kobe Bryant, Bynum had been having a monster season at age 20 before injuring his left knee in January. He was averaging 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, and if you can find another player in NBA history who averaged 13-10-and-2 at age 20, please show me. Other than Shaquille O'Neal, I mean.
Bynum won't be another Shaq, but when he fully arrives, he'll be the NBA's best center for a decade. His arrival could be as soon as next year, and he knows it.
So while the 2007-08 Lakers were celebrating their vanquishing of San Antonio, Bynum couldn't bear to watch. As he headed for the Staples Center parking lot, I caught up to him and asked what he was doing.
"That's hard," he said, flicking his giant head in the direction of the winning locker room. "I'm happy for them, but it's hard to sit back and watch. I want to be part of that."
Next year?
"Definitely next year," he said.
So if these Lakers were good enough to rip through the mighty West and get to the NBA Finals, how good are next year's Lakers going to be?
"Definitely championship-bound," he said.
So that's one giant. Bynum disappeared out the door, leaving me to scurry down the hall toward the other giant. As anonymous as he can possibly be, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was walking through the corridors of the Staples Center toward his own exit. The NBA's all-time scoring leader is a member of Phil Jackson's coaching staff, but as a special assistant his best work had come earlier this year with his pet project, Bynum.
Bynum's development had allowed the Lakers to be more formidable than expected until he was injured and Pau Gasol was acquired to fill the frontcourt void. So Bynum and Gasol haven't played together. Which means Gasol has not yet played his natural position, power forward. He has been stuck at center, where his tendency to avoid contact has caused Jackson to bemoan his tendency to shoot "weenie shots."
