Editor’s note: The following article appears on Hornets.com courtesy of Hoop Magazine, the official magazine of the NBA. Pick up a copy of the May/June 2007 issue, which also includes articles on Hornets power forward David West, Kobe Bryant, Chris Bosh and the Detroit Pistons.

May 9, 2007

Chandler

Late in his disappointing ’05-06 season as a member of the Chicago Bulls, Tyson Chandler made a quick stop at a Chicago mall with his family. As Chandler strolled through the mall, he passed a group of strangers, who began loudly laughing to each other. The 7-foot-1 center didn’t realize the reason for their laughter – until a few seconds later.

“After my wife and I walked by them, I heard one of them yell, ‘Bum!’ at me,” Chandler remembers of the painful incident, more saddened than angry about the harsh name-calling. “I was like, ‘Wow… that’s unbelievable.’

“That day was probably the lowest point for me in Chicago. It was the worst feeling, especially knowing that I am far from (a bum), but having to deal with hearing that.”

Since joining the Hornets last summer in a trade, Chandler has orchestrated an astonishing career turnaround that has transformed the jeers directed at him into cheers. Amid a rash of injuries to his Hornets teammates, Chandler went on a midseason tear that put his rebounding numbers alongside the best in the NBA.

“Coming into this season, my goal was to lead the league in rebounding,” Chandler says. “That was always something I thought I could accomplish if I got enough minutes, because I’ve always been in the top two or three players in rebounds per minute. Now that I’m playing a lot of minutes, I feel like every rebound coming off the rim is mine.”

The 24-year-old admits that his often-frustrating, five-year stint in Chicago negatively affected his confidence, especially offensively. Chandler never averaged more than 9.2 ppg in a full season in Chicago, despite being the second overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft.

Hornets head coach Byron Scott immediately recognized that the Dominguez (CA) High product had developed tentative habits at the offensive end. Scott began using one unconventional method to reinforce that Chandler needed to think more aggressively.

“Every time I get an offensive rebound and have a chance to score, but pass the ball back out (to the perimeter), Coach Scott has been fining me,” Chandler says, grinning. “I think it was a couple hundred dollars each time. The fines were something I looked at as kind of a funny thing, but it made me more aware of what I was doing. It definitely changed my mentality.”

As a result, Chandler has changed the way fans around the league perceive his ability and value as a player. No one is calling him a “bum” anymore; instead many are describing him as one of the league’s biggest breakthrough players of ’06-07 and a center with unlimited potential.

“It’s totally different now,” he describes. “In Chicago, I heard (negative) things from the fans, people around the city, everyone. The only reason I was upset was because I felt like I was too good of a player to be dealing with what I was dealing with. I didn’t think I had the right opportunity to succeed, and it was obvious. I felt like if I was put in the right situation to succeed, I would.”