I’ve already mentioned this in an article I wrote previously, but at the start of the 2001 NBA season Derek Fisher was injured and that was the best thing that could’ve possibly happened to him.
Fisher missed the first 62 games of the season due to a stress fracture in his foot. Since he was immobile for much of the recovery, he worked on the two things he would become known for: working out and shooting. When Fisher came back near the end of the season, the Lakers were in disarray with Shaq and Kobe feuding and their repeat chances not looking good.
Derek returned as a dead-eye sharpshooter who still brought tons of smarts and defensive hustle to the team. Now that he was even buffer than before, he even looked cooler too. Don’t believe the discrepancy in his play? Below are his stats from the season in question and the season prior.
1999-2000: 6.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 35% field goal percentage, 72% free throw percentage, 31% three point percentage, in 23 minutes of play
2000-2001: 11.5 points, 3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.0 steals, 41% field goal percentage, 81% free throw percentage, 40% three point percentage, in 35 minutes of play
That’s a huge difference. Granted he played a lot more minutes, but his percentages improved across the board. At this time, I was skeptical to actually like him as a player, but I couldn’t deny that he was good for the team. In the end, for the next few years he was a push, and I couldn’t decide whether I liked him or not. However, I did defend him from my friends who still argued that he sucked.
During that 2001 playoff season, Fisher set some records and made a ton of clutch shots. The Lakers, who had been waiting for a third double-digit scorer to complement Shaq and Kobe were given exactly what they needed and paraded their way to a 15-1 playoff record, the best in history (could’ve been 15-0 if not for AI’s amazing Game 1 of the finals.)
For the next 4 seasons, Fisher maintained his status as a great shooter, good energy player, smart decision-maker, and solid defender. Even with his demotion to the bench with the acquisition of Gary Payton in 2004, Fisher remained a dependable contributor to the Lakers team.
