[Highlight] Bynum got his get back on Shaq 20 years ago (Jan 16, 2006).
Absolutely loved Bynum while he was on the Lakers, was bummed when we traded him for Dwight, because I thought Bynum had the better career arc in front of him.
Boy was I mistaken (mostly)
The rare 4 team trade that ultimately was a lose-lose-lose-lose.
Magic got Vucevic, I think.
They did, and they also missed the playoffs 9 out of the next 11 years (making it as the 7 and 8 seed the years they made it) and went 309-574 in that stretch. Thats a really rough decade after trading away Dwight.
you’re right that we had a rough decade.
thats not because the dwight trade was bad for us though, its because our gm at the time was an double agent for OKC who made horrendous decisions to speed up the rebuild which crashed and burned
They got Vucevic but took 7 years to go back to the playoffs and weren’t able to go past the 1st Round during his tenure. A messy rebuild
Yeah but vuc got em wcj and now they’re the 6 seed. Quite the progression.
Man, my brain is stuck in 2015. I read WCJ as Willie Cauley-Jein
Wichael Carter Jilliams
More like QuileGon-Jein amirite
And Franz.
This other insignificant German guy too, but yes, WCJ was the biggest get of that trade
They haven’t made it past the 1st round during the post-Vucevic years either, tbf
Yeah, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen something like that not work out for anyone really lol
Bynum’s brief period with the rebuilding Cavs is the most hilarious exit a player has ever made:
“Before Bynum was thrown out of his final practice and suspended, he was shooting the ball every time he touched it in a practice scrimmage, sources said – from whatever remote part of the court he had caught the ball.” - Woj
You can almost sympathize because his knees were wrecked and he had only played for contending teams up until that point, but it’s still hilarious.
Crazy that if he would have gone on IR and somehow been healthy enough to contribute the next year, he would have been on a 2015 Finals team with the Cavs.
Yeah, I think to Bynum it was always just a job. I can imagine being petty as hell too if my job that I didn’t really like constantly shredded my knees lol
Uhhh pretty sure he was bowling on an injury and busted it again
That was a half truth/joke that ran away to “bowling ended his career” though. There was a moment where he did get hurt while bowling but his knees were beyond wrecked from playing basketball. It would have made no real difference in the long run whether or not that happened because he was already in pain every day.
If I remember correctly, he brought this up about not really being passionate about basketball. But I know people who are tall always get pushed in that direction when they’re growing up.
A little over a decade ago, I was put on a project at my old job at a tech company. The project manager for it was 7 feet tall or close to it. We were on-site with the customer and the dude was constantly being asked if he used to play basketball.
There was another guy I met through another friend who was extremely tall. They were Navy buddies. Sometimes tall people want to do something else other than basketball.
But I get it. Making it to the NBA is like winning the lottery. You can get your generational wealth, get out and never have to think about basketball again.
No doubt. And he had already made $70 million at that point.
I think he would’ve had a real decent career without the injuries. The injuries killed him physically but more importantly, mentally. That’s the difference between the good/great careers and ones like his.
Which reminds me of my favorite Easter egg Basketball-Reference has ever slipped into their stats.
S-Tier
I didn’t know basketball reference had Easter Eggs. Does Raja Bell have a clothesline stat?
He said himself he didn’t give a shit about basketball and didn’t even really like it.
He got forced into the sport as a junior because of his size and athletic ability. He enjoyed competing and was naturally really good at basketball. He knew he could make a lot of money.
Once he started to have health issues, he hated the sport even more. Especially now that he was rich.
He essentially retired when he was 26 years old, after earning around 70 million USD.
The dude is still only 37.
He just was not serious enough. Needed knee surgery in the offseason 2010 and postponed it so he could go to the World Cup and vacation in Europe first
I remember him weirdly showing back up at cavs games to watch after being out of the league. Youre right its one of the strangest exits of the league ever
Same! Bynum had such potential. But the Lakers gave an undisciplined 20 year old $57 million dollars and did not give him the support he needed. He turned down being trained by KAJ. Yea, his knees got hurt but that was avoidable if the Lakers cared enough.
Bynum and Kyrie were going to be electric
I was a huge Bynum fan. Maybe things don’t go as sideways as they did if he stays in LA? I do t really remember the extent of his injuries.
That Lakers team had so much potential. If they hired a coach that fit them, it could’ve been great. Instead they had a starting lineup of 30yr olds with a coach whose main strategy is “RUN!”
Bynum never got D’antoni as a coach in LA. He was traded for Dwight right before the start of the 2012-2013 season.
Also people forget but Mike Brown was the coach for that cursed season for 5 games (1-4 record plus 0-8 during preseason) before getting fired.
That 2007-08 Bynum was something special. We were robbed with injuries. He could’ve been 25-10 big with amazing efficiency.
I mean to be fair, there was a good 7 months where you were right. Dwight had his first back surgery in April of 2012, and he was traded to the Lakers in August of that year. Before Bynum hurt his back in a freak accident, there was plenty of reason to assume a younger, healthier great player would be better than a 27 year-old coming off back surgery.
I was devastated when he announced for the draft. I was so excited to see him play in college.
I always forget Dwight was on the Lakers that first time. My mind has him go straight to the Rockets
He was a really really good player in 09-11. Long as hell. Can’t make them love it though.
His knees gave out if I remember correctly
No matter what you trade Bynum for prime Dwight. Unfortunately nobody would guess Dwight was too mentally weak to play with Kobe
Bynum was a bum on the Lakers
19 y/o kid at the time. Really felt like a passing of the torch at the time
Seriously. Already 20 years ago huh.
This era was prime NBA for me (obviously biased).
Miss the Nash Suns, Dirk’s Mavs, Kobe Lakers, Wade Heat, Melo Nuggets, Yao Tmac Rockets, Big 3 Spurs, Dwight Magic, Bosh Raptors, Brandon Roy/LMA trailblazers, Billups and Wallace bros Pistons, young LeBron on the Cavs with big Z, the start of the big3 Celtics, and many more that I’m forgetting.
I do think the teams/talent are back to being as interesting as they were in the previous era. But the process of watching the game itself has become worse with ads and gambling shoved in your face 24⁄7. I don’t gamble, but I feel terrible for the people that do, especially the people that are trying to abstain from gambling.
Do not remind me of us being up 3-1 on the suns. I almost cried and was tired as hell at school everyday after them games .
Fuck Tim Thomas
Smh. I want to visit the universe where both T-Mac and Yao stayed healthy together.
I started really following the NBA in 04-05 and boy do I miss those teams. I would say the prime years for me were 2006-2016.
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Who’s making 50 mil a year and only playing 50 games a year that doesn’t have some sort of severe or season ending injury?
You know that Ben and Rasheed Wallace are not related, right?
Same man, every team had their superstar. Something about the 2000-2010 was special in the nba
Absolutely had the talent to be the best center of the 2010s, just didn’t have the ambition. He was actually 18 and a few months at the time
I thought injuries halted his career no?
He had injuries but no, ultimately it was lack of drive to be great.
That seems speculative
There’s a famous bowling incident of his when he got traded to the Sixers, granted he said he didn’t want to play for them anyway and was recovering, but if you have a greatness mindset you approach things differently
how would you know how someone with a greatness mindset approaches things?
Lol what’s the bowling incident?
After the Sixers traded for him, he injured his knee bowling when he was supposed to be recovering from knee treatments. He ended up out for the entire season and never played a game for them.
Wow that’s wild
Years from now, when people ask what went wrong with Ben Simmons career, what would you tell them?
Ask Ben Simmons
It was actually his love of bowling
yes, it was his injuries that did him in. idk what that guy is talking about. bynum wasnt the hardest worker but his injuries killed his career. he was improving every year and made the allstar game before missing a full season to injury then that was it for him
Not even. He was barely 18 here.
This was 20 years ago?? Fucking hell…
There are players in the league right now who weren’t alive when this happened. We’re old
Bynum himself is not even 40 yet. (38)
Because he’s the youngest drafted player ever at 17. His whole NBA career is basically between the ages of 17-26.
Wait, your telling me he’s younger than LeBron lmao LeBron is crazy I still remember these games. As a Kobe fan those games against Shaq were intense. It felt like each game was a referendum on who was better and more responsible for the previous titles
Dont remind me….
And I still haven’t made it big!
Will you shut the hell up man like goddman I don’t need more excuses to get drunk
I don’t like this
What’s wild is that is essentially one random play on a pretty mediocre Lakers team but I remember EXACTLY where I was when it happened. I was sick AF watching the game laying down on the couch and literally jumped out of my seat in my stupor when Bynum pulled that move.
That is so much more fun than chunking 3s
The physicality and willpower of post-basket plays was so fun to watch back then
Everytime this sub tries to tell me that the 2000s was a boring dead ball era I just lean back and laugh. You had to be there. No better era in basketball. So many stars. Stars actually guarded each other on both sides of the court. Physicality was encouraged. Had Jordan, LeBron, Kobe, Duncan, Garnett, Shaq, Dirk, Wade.
I love ball and love the game of today. But 2000s era will always be my favorite.
I’ll never forget Melo and Kobe consistently guarding eachother in their match ups when Melo was in Denver. Good times.
That was great defense by Melo in that series too!
Also every team had different styles or were known for something. Now everyone plays basically the same with the unicorn players giving any identity at all.
Would much rather see Shaq camped out in the corner trying to bait a foul
Staples center used to be so much louder back in the day. Corporate atmosphere ruined it
Kobe games used to be so fun
i hate the dim lights too. when ur at a game u cant really feel the crowd because its so fucking dark like ur at the god damn movies
I think for that they want the attention to be on the court. It was like that in The Forum too
I understand why they do it I feel like it just takes the crowd out of it a bit. I say this having been to games at staples before and after they implemented it
I love that type of lighting, MSG used to do it too
Wolves switched to it this year too, it’s so much vibier than the super bright look
Nah I love that.
Bynum was a beast until his knees gave out and was never the same.
76ers players and bowling related controversies. Not a pattern but you can’t say it isnt weird its happened twice
In my eyes the 76ers started the process as a consequence of the Bynum trade
They basically let go Iguodala and a young Vucevic away for him, while adding Michael Carter-Williams as a rookie the season right after it.
I wouldn’t say he was a beast because his knees gave up before developing its true potential.
Nah he realized that potential before they gave out. The 2011-2012 season Andrew Bynum was the All-Star Starter the West, All-NBA 2nd team selection, averaging 19pts/12rbs/2blks/2ast
I am convinced that he was on a Hall of Fame trajectory in 2007-08 before his first injury
At age 20, he was a top ~20 player in the NBA by advanced stats. Lakers were the #1 seed, before even getting Gasol.
He then had 4 straight years with major injuries. Despite that, he still made All-NBA 2nd team the next time he was healthy.
Pacers legend Andrew Bynum
I was weirdly looking forward to seeing him vs Greg Oden on the Heat going head to head in back up minutes in the playoffs. A much ado about nothing, except I think Hibbert got his confidence hurt?
My theory is that series was when he found out Paul George was sleeping with Roy’s gf at the time
They’d prolly last a good 30 seconds on the court before the knee pain kicks in for both.
I just hope word comes out about Andrew one day. After he left the game he essentially disappeared
Andrew Fronum
Bynum is the real injury what if. Bro made all NBA with no knees
He had attitude problems unfortunately, but still undoubtedly would’ve been great without injury. Oden also would’ve been amazing. He was a beast at OSU
Yeah people who call Luka fat even in jest wouldve DESPISED bynum lol. Dude was drafted at 18 then never matured beyond that, he completely coasted off of his god given abilities and never put an ounce of thought into conditioning or expanding his game until his least season where he only took 3’s in practice lmao.
In a lot of ways, dude was basically exactly like Shaq. Huh.
Actually I believe he had a body mechanics issue that was the core of his workout focus in his early years
Man I remember watching this live, shit was so fuckin hype
Me too.
Loved that Bynum wasted no time going right back at Shaq too. Both are New Jersey born dudes, so there was no backing down.
Shaq is such a baby. Dude cant handle getting stunted back on lol
Shaq ran down the court after Bynum beat him. He wasn’t looking for an altercation because he got beat. Bynum elbowed him in the chest after running down the floor so Shaq hit him back.
I mean for the day that elbow to the ribs was just normal jostling for inside position. The elbow aimed much higher from Shaq was retaliation.
Bynum was jostling while the ball had barely been inbounded it, he was definitely overdoing it to send a message. He knew what he was doing even in those days.
Shaq definitely escalated with this retaliation.
It says a lot about Shaq, after how great a career he’d already had, to get stunted back on and start shit with a literal teenager. Bynum was probably hyped he dunked on an idol and Shaq had to take it personally.
Eh it’s 100% normal from Shaq to retaliate after getting elbowed in the body
Shaq felt he had to teach the young guys to respect and even fear him.
Kind of like how Gordie Howe in hockey elbowed Phil Esposito in the face right off the faceoff in one of Espo’s first games. He wanted to teach the young star to be hesitant around him. The intimidation factor.
Don’t have to like it to understand the reasoning. Guys like this are seeking whatever competitive edge they can get.
Naw Bynum was obviously hyped up and put something extra on that chicken wing
Imagine actually getting to dunk on Shaq at 18 years old. I’m talking all of the shit.
Yeah, the double-tech was such a chicken shit cop-out. Shoulda probably been an ejection for Shaq.
Part of Shaq’s game was physical intimidation. If Bynum pushes him with the forearm, Shaq is going to push back harder, so Bynum will think twice about doing that again.
You may not like it, but it was part of Shaq’s game to be meaner and stronger than the players he was up against. He didn’t want to show any weakness, otherwise his opponents might start taking more and more liberties with him.
Big man, fragile ego. This has been known for years
Im so old I remember watching this live 😭
I remember watching these ones too: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zq1Vm74tvwo
After the altercation, look how fast they got back into playing, as well as still guarding each other. No one got benched or ejected. No 10 min review for a minor scuffle.
Beautiful. 🥲 What happened to the game I love?
Literally like 20 seconds later back to guarding each other.
NBA does way too much now. Refs would be at the scorers table doing quantum physics . Trying to figure out the shot clock to the exact millisecond. Checking 50 different camera angles for a call.
Basketball used to be basketball
Everyone dissing Shaq for this, but I love it. Bynum got super hyped up (fair) and Shaq dialed him back a bit (fair)
No problem with either one.
always loved this highlight
Prime Bynum, he’s like 19 here and went straight to post up and had a move committed.
If we had him on our squad right now it would make a world of difference.
Bynum also probably had top 15 hands for centers all time, though he was good for like two years lol.
18 actually. He was the youngest player in the league that season.
Jesus that was 20 years ago? Damn I’m old
I remember watching this live and getting so hyped.
Bynum before his first injury was a beast - and even after the 2nd injury he was still pretty freaking good.
A shame that his body fell apart so spectacularly.
Gotta appreciate Kobe immediately coming to Bynum’s defense there.
This always felt more like lazy defense by Shaq. Like he didn’t even try to defend him.
Kobe :(
“Double tech” aka the good ol days.. that’s a flagrant now lol
Easy suspension lol
Fuck I miss this brand of basketball 😭
I’m like oh man, listen to Steve Kerr announcing, wonder when he started coaching — not until 2014!!!
Notice who passes the ball into the paint? Kobe. He saw the fire of vengeance in the kid’s eyes.
Man I miss Kobe. He was an 80s baby that understood if you get yammed like that it is how you respond that matters.
Saw Bynum get in position and understood he was that type of car, passed him the ball and let him get to work.
After the tussle and walking back to the bench a tap on the butt to let him know good job kid.
Goddamn I’m old…
Marv Albert Doug Collins
Who’s the third voice I recognize?
r/fuckimold for forgetting this.
Sounds like Steve Kerr.
Thank you.
Bynum had heart
Somehow Bynum is still only 38 years old lol
He would have posted about it on MySpace, if anyone could have watched the clip as a postage-stamp-sized file.
This moment is that long ago, being my point.
All-star at age 24, then basically never played again. Just not a lot of cases of players with injury issues that prevent them from playing so young. In retrospect, much closer to a Greg Oden-type career than I’d believe.
Lmao at the fan with binoculars in the third row.
Wasn’t the league better when floppers and cunts were not the face of it? I’d much rather watch this than FTA and Bron..
Uh, I’ve got news for you, buddy.
LeBron was in the league when this play occurred.
Thanks for making me feel old, OP!
I saw this live. It was what Pacific Rim wished it could be.
I like how kobe, who dont like passing, gave that shit to him 🤣🤣🤣🤣
All the talent, none of the discipline required to be a great. I was certain that kid was going to be special.
Damn I still remember watching this live on TV. It’s an amazing highlight by itself, but the commentary pushes it over the top as an all-timer.
And ppl think Draymond Green could have stopped Shaq 😂😂
Damn i feel old lol
sixers legend andrew bynum
Hi Spot Lanes legend andrew bynum
Bynum really was a solid player
Jesus Bynum
The old stanchions always catch me off guard.
“Gave me a little Artis Gilmore move…”
Bynum should have never went bowling. Such a what if…
Pacers legend
Horrible defence by Shaq lol he just stepped right past him
Nasty work by Bynum here
Fuck Bynum for trying to murder JJ Barea
Soft ass shaq, needs to always be the biggest mf and have all the attention. Great move by Bynum
Thin skinned…insecure Sgaq
Shaq has always been so fucking fragile man. He thinks he projects strength with his size but his actions really do just show how small his character is.
Thats not what happened here.
that fragile ego on display
Shaq’s ego has been fragile since forever lol he’s funny though
Baboon get owned, Baboon not happy, Baboon hit
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I hope this is pasta
Did you think of all this because Shaq is in the clip or why.
Personally I didn’t like him because Lakers plus the rape allegations
I fucking agree with this Celtics fan. Holy shit. This was a good write up.