Lakers newest player David Nwaba is proving he is a keeper
Now an official Los Angeles Lakers forward, David Nwaba is showing why he has a future in the NBA.
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David Nwaba was called up to the big leagues on February 28, then ten days later, signed a second 10-day contract. Nwaba impressed Lakers head Coach Luke Walton while playing for the D-Fenders, and then again while playing for him, and finally enough to sign the 24-year-old Los Angeles native to a longer term contract.
During Nwaba’s first ten days of his NBA career, he had a positive real plus-minus for six of seven games, and the Lakers were a better team with him on the court. By far his best game in the next ten days was against Minnesota when he played for 26 minutes (the most he had played at the time), he scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished two assists making 80 percent of his shots.
Luke wanted David for his defense as well as his offense. There aren’t too many stats kept for defense. You cannot count drive, you cannot count energy, and you cannot count missed shots due to defense, but all of those things contribute significantly to any team. That’s what Nwaba brings to the Lakers.
By far his best performance thus far was against the Lakers rival Clippers team. Nwaba scored 19 points making 67 percent of his field goals along with seven rebounds, two steals, and one assist. He also played for over 34 minutes, that was also a first.
| G | Date | Opp | GS | MP | FG | FG% | 3P | 3P% | FT | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17-02-28 | CHO | L (-5) | 0 | 5:19 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | ||
| 2 | 17-03-03 | BOS | L (-20) | 0 | 20:00 | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 3 | .750 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | +5 | |
| 3 | 17-03-05 | NOP | L (-8) | 0 | 9:05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +6 | |||
| 4 | 17-03-07 | DAL | L (-11) | 0 | 8:18 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +11 | |
| 5 | 17-03-09 | PHO | W (+12) | 0 | 13:40 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | +7 | |
| 6 | 17-03-12 | PHI | L (-2) | 1 | 16:23 | 1 | .333 | 0 | .000 | 4 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -4 |
| 7 | 17-03-13 | DEN | L (-28) | 1 | 18:34 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -6 | ||
| 8 | 17-03-15 | HOU | L (-39) | 0 | 17:46 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -25 | ||
| 9 | 17-03-17 | MIL | L (-4) | 0 | 12:36 | 2 | .667 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | +7 | |
| 10 | 17-03-19 | CLE | L (-5) | 0 | 22:09 | 3 | .600 | 0 | 1 | .500 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | -8 | |
| 11 | 17-03-21 | LAC | L (-24) | 0 | 14:01 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -15 | ||
| 12 | 17-03-24 | MIN | W (+11) | 0 | 26:12 | 4 | .800 | 0 | 2 | .667 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +19 | |
| 13 | 17-03-26 | POR | L (-16) | 0 | 28:48 | 4 | 1.000 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | -6 |
| 14 | 17-03-28 | WAS | L (-11) | 0 | 22:50 | 4 | .800 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | -5 | ||
| 15 | 17-03-30 | MIN | L (-15) | 0 | 30:00 | 1 | .250 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 1.000 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
| 16 | 17-04-01 | LAC | L (-11) | 0 | 34:33 | 6 | .667 | 0 | .000 | 7 | .700 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19 | -1 |
| 17 | 17-04-02 | MEM | W (-11) | 0 | 15:03 | 1 | .333 | 0 | .000 | 1 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | +1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/2/2017.
Nwaba doesn’t always shoot 67% or better, but he shoots over 60 percent 50 percent of the time, and that’s pretty darn impressive. It seems on his big 19 point night, David has two distinct shot zones.
Before playing for the Lakers, Nwaba played for Coach Coby Karl and his Los Angeles D-Fenders. Nwaba was a big part of the team, often launching and slamming down the basketball for memorable dunks. But it was his FG percentage stat that got him noticed by scouts. Nwaba made 67 percent of every two-point shot he attempted which ranked No. 1 in the D-League. He also averaged 14.1 points per game along with a full set of impressive stats.
| Season | G | GS | MP | FG | FG% | 3P | 3P% | 2P | 2P% | FT | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 40 | 31 | 28.8 | 5.7 | .647 | 0.1 | .235 | 5.6 | .668 | 2.5 | .612 | 2.7 | 4.2 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 14.1 |
| Career | 40 | 31 | 28.8 | 5.7 | .647 | 0.1 | .235 | 5.6 | .668 | 2.5 | .612 | 2.7 | 4.2 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 14.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/2/2017.
David Nwaba played basketball for California Poly San Luis Obispo, or SLO, as most in California call the school. His fellow college classmates we have heard from are very very proud of David. They wear it as a badge of honor that someone who played from an underperforming state school in the Big West division made it to the big leagues. It also gives hope to all the other basketball players out there who don’t play for a big-time college program.
Nwaba consistently averaged around 11-13 points per game over his career and also put up respectable assists, steals, rebounds and blocks statistics.
| Season | G | MP | FG | FG% | 2P | 2P% | 3P | 3P% | FT | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 34 | 23.8 | 4.1 | .526 | 4.1 | .526 | 0.0 | 3.5 | .686 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 11.7 | |
| 2014-15 | 24 | 26.8 | 4.2 | .428 | 4.1 | .438 | 0.1 | .200 | 2.9 | .636 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 11.4 |
| 2015-16 | 30 | 28.0 | 4.4 | .462 | 4.3 | .478 | 0.1 | .143 | 3.6 | .623 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 12.5 |
| Career | 88 | 26.0 | 4.2 | .473 | 4.2 | .483 | 0.0 | .167 | 3.4 | .650 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 11.9 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 4/2/2017.
David Nwaba made it to the NBA because while at CP He was 1- great teammate 2-hard worker 3- Coachable 4- fought thru injury & adversity!
— Joe Callero (@CoachCallero) March 22, 2017
Must Read: More on the Los Angeles D-Fenders from the Lake Show Life
The D-Fenders open up Playoff Play this Thursday against the Rio Grande Vipers coached by Matt Brase and Joseph Blair. The Vipers proved to be a difficult opponent for the D-Fenders at the beginning of the season. We will see if the Lakers will allow the D-Fenders both Nwaba and Ivica Zubac for their run to the National Championship.