On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers assigned rookie forward, Anthony Brown, to their D-League affiliate team, the D-Fenders where he had an impressive debut against the Bakersfield Jam.
Coming into the league, Anthony Brown was a relatively unknown prospect despite being selected 34th overall by Los Angeles in June. That said, Brown managed to sneak his way into Byron Scott‘s starting rotation to end the preseason giving fans hope that their 3-and-D savior may have finally arrived.
In reality, that has not happened. Since starting his last preseason game, Brown has played a total of 9 minutes and 2 seconds of NBA basketball all in garbage time, making the move to the D-League almost expected. What was not expected, however, was Brown’s assertive D-League debut against the Bakersfield Jam.
While playing for the Lakers during Summer League and preseason, Brown was relatively reserved, not wanting to step on any toes, just trying to play a role. This established persona is why his outburst for 22 points in 33 minutes of play was so surprising.
OFFICIAL: The @Lakers have assigned guard/forward Anthony Brown (@TwoShotOne) to the D-Fenders
— South Bay Lakers (@SouthBayLakers) November 17, 2015
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Aside from the always intense Julius Randle, Los Angeles seems to have gotten used to “nonchalant” rookies, so it’s an encouraging sign that Brown is taking the initiative and making the most of his opportunity.
We’ve seen players succeed in the D-League with little translation to the NBA – see Jabari Brown, Vander Blue, etc. — but Brown seems to have true NBA potential.
This could be directly on account of his 4-5 years of college experience, something that is somewhat of an outlier in today’s modern NBA. That said, a few things stuck out about his impressive opening performance.
First things first, Brown looked supremely confident. In the video above, it can be seen that he has nearly no hesitation on any of his shots. On the D-Fenders, Brown is not constantly looking over his shoulder to see if Byron Scott‘s going to pull him, or if Kobe’s going to try and strangle him, instead he looks just the opposite. Brown looks free, confident, like he knows he’s the best player on the court.
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The second point directly attests to this. Brown shot 17 times on 47 percent shooting, ten of which were from behind the arc.
If Brown takes but one thing away from his D-League stint, it will assuredly be the confidence that he can knock down shots from NBA range. Brown showed that his shooting could translate over to the NBA in the preseason and continues to do so in the D-League.
Last, his strong performance adds to the long list of reasons Brown should be getting minutes over the likes of Metta World Peace and Brandon Bass. At 2-9, the Lakers need to be honest with themselves and realize that winning is far from the top priority this year. Instead, developing younger players like Anthony Brown should reign supreme.
Scott slowly seems to be coming to this conclusion but we wouldn’t put anything past him. Fully expect to see a confident Anthony Brown to return to the Lakers roster in the coming weeks. Just pray that he gets the minutes he deserves.
Next: Lakers Take One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
What do you think about Anthony Brown’s impressive D-League debut? Should he get regulation rotation minutes when he returns to the Lakers? Let us know in the comments below.