Xavier Henry Timeline; Hoops Lineage to L.A. Lakers
By Fern Rea
November 1, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Xavier Henry (7) moves the ball against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Many Lakers fans didn’t know much about Xavier Henry when the Lakers signed him to a non-guaranteed contract prior to the start of the 2013-2014 preseason. Many believed he would just be another player that would fill out the preseason roster but ultimately be cut when the final roster was decided on by the coaching staff.
After a stellar preseason campaign he was awarded with one of the final roster spots and he’s continued his solid play into the first 5 games of the regular season.
The interest in Henry has increased significantly after he was named to the starting lineup prior to Sunday’s match up against the Atlanta Hawks, replacing Nick Young. Adding to the interest is Henry’s surprising production thus far; he’s currently second on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game and as a result of his unrelenting drives to the basket, he leads the team in free throw attempts by a large margin, 33 attempts with Nick Young a distant 2nd on the team at 23.
With more questions coming out of Lakersdom we decided to take a quick look back at Xavier Henry’s life and how he got to be one of the pleasant surprises of this young Lakers’ season.