This is Pt. II of my list of top-10 memories of Andrew Bynum’s time with the Lakers. If you missed Pt. I, click here.
Counting down from five-to-one:
5. The time he grabbed 30 rebounds against Tim Duncan and the Spurs (4/11/12)
One of three memories on the list from this past season. Bynum became the first Laker to grab 30 rebounds in a game since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1978. The Spurs as a team had 33 rebounds. Kobe missed the game with a shin injury. It was like watching the NBA’s version of Hungry, Hungry, Hippo. As incredible as it was, the game might have done more for San Antonio. It would be the last they’d lose between April 12 and May 31 — a stretch of 20 straight wins. But that shouldn’t take anything away from Bynum’s amazing night or this hilarious postgame interview featuring another accidental Bynum curse:
httpvhd://youtu.be/a1XVm9Pijt4
Next Page: Bynum Gets Nasty on Kevin Garnett
4. Bynum dunks on Kevin Garnett (1/31/10)
The phrase “pick on someone your own size” was invented for guys like Kevin Garnett. YouTube is filled with clips of Garnett bullying the likes of José Calderon, Jerryd Bayless, and Marco Belinelli but rarely has he stepped to a non-European 7-footer. So it’s always great to see when guys like LaMarcus Aldridge or Lamar Odom give it right back. Considering Garnett’s behavior in the closing minutes of the Celtics Game 6 clincher against the Lakers in 2008, it was great to see Bynum — who missed that series due to injury — humble Garnett when he dunked on him. The Lakers would go on to beat Garnett and the Celtics in the NBA Finals five months later.
httpvhd://youtu.be/swjhfZTfvos
**Bonus Video: Here’s Anthony Peeler chin-checking Garnett, his former teammate.
Next Page: Messing Around to Get a Triple-Double
3. The playoff triple-double against Denver (4/29/12)
The other item on the list from the 2011-12 season. Bynum recorded the Lakers first playoff triple-double in 21 years and he did it with 10 blocks. Even though Bynum’s mouth would get the Lakers in trouble later in the series, he dominated Game 1 on the defensive end. It was as impressive of a defensive performance as I’ve seen from any Laker in my 30 years as a fan. Even though most people will only remember this series for the triple-double and Bynum’s quote about close-out games being easy, make sure you remind them that in that pivotal Game 7 Bynum played 43 minutes scoring 16 points, pulling down 18 rebounds, and blocking six shots.
httpvhd://youtu.be/7Vh_mVeG7WA
Next Page: 40 and 15 vs. the Clippers
2. 42 points, 15 rebounds vs. the Clippers (1/21/09)
The shame in Bynum’s second knee injury was that he was undoubtedly playing the best basketball of his career at the time. It was even more impressive if you can remember how concerned people were with how, or even if, he could bounce back from the first injury. In the 16 games he played in January, Bynum averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds a game, highlighted by a 42-point, 15-rebound game against the Clippers when he was 21-years-old. ESPN’s resident Laker hater, Bill Simmons had the misfortune of turning in an ESPN The Magazine column, in which he called Bynum vastly overrated. Unfortunately for him, the issue came out the same day that Bynum was named Western Conference Player of the Week. Simmons and I had the following exchange during one of his chats :
Me: Did you write your mag column before Andrew Bynum was named Western Conference Player of the Week and dropped 42 on Los Clippers? Have your thoughts changed on his ceiling or his contract extension?
Simmons: It’s funny you should ask. They changed my magazine deadline (which sucks for me from a “timing” standpoint) – THAT NIGHT, I went to Clips-Lakers and Bynum out up a 42-15 (on Skinner and Jordan, but still). Then he looked great against Duncan on Sunday. I’d say Bynum is now properly rated. I was really impressed by him in person.
httpvhd://youtu.be/zqtkZRvumws
For me, there was no question what Andrew Bynum’s most memorable moment as a Laker will forever be:
Next Page: The Shaq Incident
1. The Shaq Incident (1/16/06)
Imagine you just turned 18 and graduated from high school six months ago. Now imagine that it’s Martin Luther King Day and you’re thrown into a nationally televised game and forced to match up with future Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal — the man you were drafted to replace and perhaps the most physically intimidating basketball player who ever lived. That’s what happened to Bynum. And he lived up to the challenge. O’Neal had won the first three match-ups with the Lakers since being traded to Miami. The fourth would be the charm for the Lakers. First, Shaq welcomes Bynum to the league with a put-back dunk right over him. And just when you think Bynum might ball himself into a fetal position and cry uncontrollably, he does the exact opposite. Instead, he returns the favor by embarrassing Shaq in the building O’Neal once dubbed “The House That Shaq Built”. What followed after was a near fight between the two. Even though Baby Bynum looks like he might poop in his shorts, it’s clear that Shaq felt humiliated.
Just listen to how the crowd reacts. I was there so I can tell you how electric it was. If there was a moment that signified that the Lakers were over the Shaq trade and finally ready to move on, this was it:
httpvhd://youtu.be/bd-FLEDTfao
So long, Drew! And thanks for the memories.