Desmond Bane has been one of the best young players this season, leaving shooters like Damian Lillard and James Harden behind.
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A few years ago TCU was the only scholarship offer Desmond Bane had, as he had questionable scouting reports. Players with shorter wingspan than their height barely do good in any of those reports, which weighs physical attributes and skills on the same scale. Even Stephen Curry famously had bad scouting reports.
Bane has been overlooked his entire career, not anymore. After coming into the NBA at 30th overall for the Memphis Grizzlies, he made an immediate impact in his first season.
Last year he was named Second Team All-Rookie, converting on over 43% of his attempts from three and scoring 9.2 points in just 22 minutes per game. He was big coming off the bench, helping the Grizzlies reach the Playoffs.
This year he was rewarded with a starting role as the Grizzlies had their starter at the two, Dillon Brooks, out of the lineup since the beginning of the season. And Desmond repaid them even better than he did last season.
Desmond Bane DAGGER vs. the Lakers 🗡 pic.twitter.com/aUYMjEz5uH
— ESPN (@espn) December 10, 2021
Desmond Bane is better at 3s than Lillard and Harden
The sophomore is already more efficient than the top 3-point shooters in the league. And he’s not doing it with lesser attempts, mind you.
Desmond Bane is shooting better from three (40.2%) on more attempts than:
Zach LaVine
Donovan Mitchell
Tyler Herro
Duncan Robinson
Trae Young
Buddy Hield
Jordan Poole
Jayson Tatum
Paul George
Luka Doncic
Damian Lillard
James Hardenpic.twitter.com/wLdgmkbpcw— Grizzlies Analytics (@GrizzAnalytics) December 10, 2021
Bane is not just magnificent beyond the 3-point line, he has been an enigma on the defensive side of the court as well. As a result, he has kept his position even after Brooks came back to the lineup. Since Ja Morant is out injured, he has upped his performance even more.
Desmond Bane’s last 8 games:
– 19.0 PPG
– 52% FG
– 52% 3PTHe had career highs in points (29) and rebounds (9) in last night’s win in Dallas.
It was Bane’s 10th game with 4 or more 3s this season. Only players with more are Steph Curry, CJ McCollum, and Buddy Hield. pic.twitter.com/avXkqatepB
— Grizzlies Analytics (@GrizzAnalytics) December 5, 2021
The sharpshooter now has 20 or more points in 7 of his last 11 games after posting one 20-point game in his first 15 games of the season. In Grizzlies’ 113-106 win against the Rockets Saturday night, he had 19 points shooting 3/9 from the three.
Even after Ja Morant is back, he should be averaging similar minutes, as the two-guard has made his presence felt even against top teams and is coming off big in the absence of top stars of the team.