If you watch a Hawks game and see a player moving faster than the others, waving his arms and bounding all over with enthusiasm, it's probably Kent Bazemore.
If you watch the Hawks' bench and see a player moving faster than the others, waving his arms and bounding all over with enthusiasm, it's probably Kent Bazemore.
Two locations, one strategy.
Teammate Mike Scott, who has played a lot of basketball with Bazemore dating all the way back to their AAU days in Virginia, says that Bazemore's energy has more or less always been this way.
"Of course, he matured a whole bunch, but he's still wild, crazy Kent -- all over the floor, being active defensively, guarding the best player, slashing and dunking -- kind of the same thing I see right now."
This season Bazemore has taken on the challenge of guarding some of the league's top perimeter players, especially In the weeks since fellow backup wingman Thabo Sefolosha injured his calf. In the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month, Bazemore spent time guarding LeBron James in the second half and finished with a game-best +/- rating of +15.
Bazemore's game has blossomed in other ways this season too. The Kelford, N.C. native has worked to improve his jump shot and the numbers show the progress. After connecting on 29.4% and 33.6% of his three-point shots in his first two seasons, he has bumped his percentage of made threes to 39.2% this season. He has been even more accurate from the corners, his sweet spots, where he has made 48.9% of his threes, including the game-clinching shot against Sacramento Monday.
A few years ago, though, it was not a certainty that he would grab an NBA roster spot, let alone become a key rotation player on a playoff team. After finishing up a successful college career at Old Dominion University, Bazemore went unselected in the 2012 NBA Draft. Trying to secure the best scenario for him, Bazemore's agent made a pitch to teams to get him in the door.
"If you have some guys in who you think can score, why not bring my guy in? He's an elite collegiate defender. Let's see if they can do well against him."
The claim wasn't an overstatement, as Bazemore had won numerous defensive awards in college.
"In 2011, I got the (Lefty Driesell) National Defensive Player of the Year Award. Anthony Davis got it the next year. Tough guy to beat," Bazemore says now with a wry smile.
The Golden State Warriors added Bazemore to their 2012 Las Vegas Summer League team, a loaded roster that also featured Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson. Bazemore averaged more than 8 points per game, and the Summer Warriors went undefeated. In one of the wins, he blocked 7 shots.
The Warriors signed Bazemore to a rookie deal shortly after Summer League ended. But at that time, Golden State was loaded with talent on the wings. Thompson and Barnes were lottery picks with promising futures. Green played heavy doses of small forward in his rookie season. Stephen Curry was being used off the ball when Jarrett Jack took over at point guard.
There was opportunity in Golden State in the form of a roster spot, but not much more. For the rest, Bazemore was left to carve his own niches.
He developed a reputation as a frenetic bench guy, a teammate whose cheering was so enthusiastic that it quickly became the subject of Reddit threads, video games and YouTube videos. More importantly, Bazemore did the work away from the spotlight that he needed to do to prepare for life in the NBA, and he had the guidance of a veteran teammate who made himself available.
"He was a good kid, and that was a year that I wasn't playing very much," Richard Jefferson, now a member of the Dallas Mavericks, said. "I was injured in Golden State, and so we were both out of the rotation. So we just worked out a ton, and the kid worked on his game a ton. He worked extremely hard, and I'm happy for his success."
Bazemore credits Jefferson for helping him off the court too.
"It was such a new situation for me and being so far from home, away from your parents, away from your best friends you grew up with. I was out there alone. He took me under his wing. It's a very different lifestyle. You get a little bit of pocket change -- more money than you've ever had -- and there's so much other stuff that comes with that. He told me the important things, like getting a financial advisor. He saved me a lot of money; he actually gave me a car my rookie year for a small price."
The primary goal of Jefferson's free tutoring sessions primarily was, to put it bluntly, to pummel Bazemore and acclimate him to the brute force he would see when competing against the NBA's best.
"Kent had to get used to the physicality of the NBA, so me and him would play a lot of one-on-one and I would do a lot of posting up. I would really just beat him up as much as I could so that when he got into the game he was used to playing against bigger, stronger players. That's the biggest difference between playing in college and playing in the NBA."
"When you're not playing, you might not play for a year or two and then you get a 20-game opportunity to prove you belong in this league," Jefferson added. "If you're not ready for it, crazy things happen."
In fact, Bazemore got exactly 23 games for his audition, and thanks to Jefferson, he was ready.
Golden State traded Bazemore to the Los Angeles Lakers in February of 2014. On a team with significantly less depth, he played 28 minutes per game and averaged 13.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals. He started 15 of the 23 games. Head coach Mike D'Antoni praised his defensive activity, and the Lakers’ fast-break points increased from 12.7 per game prior to his arrival to 19.3 afterward.
Bazemore's season ended abruptly when he tore a tendon in his foot. But he had done enough to prove that he belonged in the league. With visions of superstar free agent signings in their head that summer, the Lakers passed on a relatively affordable qualifying offer that would have made Bazemore a restricted free agent, and the Hawks got their chance, signing him to a 2-year deal. When he arrived in Atlanta, he wasn't cleared for full participation in basketball activities, but found other ways to stay active, including riding his bike to work.
"In September when we were having two-a-days, I would come in in the morning, and we would have an afternoon session at around 3 or 4. I would ride my bike back for some conditioning. I stay right in Midtown, so I would come right down Spring St. and land a right on Marietta."
Bazemore gradually made himself a key fixture of the Coach Budenholzer's playing rotation. Prior to Jan. 1, he was playing 10.0 minutes per game. Since then he has averaged 21.9 minutes per game, and as Budenholzer notes, his pupil had earned the heavy load of minutes prior to Sefolosha's injury.
"Even before Thabo's injury, Kent was starting to get consistent minutes. He and Thabo were sharing the backup wing spots, so they were both playing. He is moving in a good direction on both ends and learning and understanding better what we want to do each day."
The numbers back support Bazemore getting those extra minutes. Bazemore has held opponents to 41.4% shooting when guarding them, according to NBA.com/Stats. Also, as a perimeter player, one of Bazemore's top jobs is to chase shooters off their jump shots. His 0.87 points per possession allowed on spot-up shots is among the best of the Hawks' wings.
As his role in the playing rotation has increased, Bazemore has spent less time cheering his teammates from the sideline. In his place, he has seen Mike Muscala stepping up for the bench squad.
"I think Mike Muscala has done a great job of picking up the slack," Bazemore said. "Every time I was doing something he'd be over there cutting up too. A lot of guys get into the game in different ways. I was just more visible. But a lot of guys talk and clap. There's a lot going on over there on the bench, even down to the coaches. Everyone is chattering over there. If our defense is in front of the bench, you hear a lot of guys talking it up, telling guys where to be."
Then pausing a beat to think about it, he adds, "I was just more outlandish with it."
In order to gush energy on the court, Bazemore keeps things pretty chill off it. A self-described homebody, he likes playing FIFA, spending time with his dogs, and naps.
One of the things he likes best about Kelford, his rural hometown of 250 residents is that it's quiet and peaceful.
"You can just sit out there and look at the stars," he says with a relaxed smile. "There's not many lights, so you can see just about every star that is and just relax."
The switch flips for him when he enters the gym. Then it's time for the fully electric Kent Bazemore Experience.
"You can't really fake that stuff. You can't really half-heart it. It has to be genuine."
Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @AnaheimAmigos