The drafting of Dan Majerle is the stuff of sports legends.
A relative unknown to fans, the guard from Central Michigan was selected higher than most anticipated -- 14th overall in the 1988 draft -- at a spot in the draft where fans wanted other talent that was still available. Thunder’s selection was met with worse reviews than the movie Waterworld. Unlike the doomed Kevin Costner vehicle, Dan overcame the critics and proved them wrong. The most impressive part? He didn’t just make their opinion look bad, he actually converted them to fans.
That process should simply be known as the Majerle Effect from here on out. As the self-appointed Nickname Czar, I’m going to say my powers extend to naming random theories that have no scientific proof as well and make that the official name.
Right now we’re in the middle of an emerging example of the Majerle Effect thanks to Suns center Alex Len.
After being drafted out of Maryland with the fifth pick in the 2013 draft Suns fans were, well, let’s just say on edge. After a very difficult first season in the league due to injuries and unrest in his home country of the Ukraine, the 7-1 former gymnast got a bum wrap from fans locally and media nationally. (If you need confirmation, just Google Len and Bust.)
This season, though, he’s seen a bigger turnaround than Robert Downey Jr. He’s entered Majerle territory in terms of winning fans over, especially since he was inserted in the starting lineup in mid-December. In those 21 games, he’s averaging 7.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game all while looking as athletic as any big man in the game. As a starter, he’s also established himself as a quality rim protector as opponents shoot 3.9 percent worse on shots in the paint.
Even our good old friend Bill Simmons has joined the party calling him one of his two favorite players from the 2013 draft class. He described him as “extra-long, extra-lanky, sneaky-chippy and shockingly agile Len looms as an unexpected X factor if Phoenix hangs on to its playoff spot.”
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon every Suns fan, in the altered words of Cotton Fitzsimmons, will be sorry they ever took to social media to say anything negative about this young man. With each passing game, Alex Len is becoming another example of the Majerle Effect and that’s nothing but good for the state of basketball in Phoenix.