When the Los Angeles Lakers signed Orange County native Travis Wear to a 10-day contract to call him up from South Bay, it wasn’t just a move to fill out the rest of their roster. It was also a dream come true for Wear, who grew up a Lakers fan.
This wasn’t an act of charity, however. The Lakers needed injury-insurance depth, and Wear had earned the opportunity with his play this season while averaging 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in the G League, in addition to canning 41.9 percent of his 7.1 3-point attempts per game.
Still, there was no guarantee Wear would be able to have the same kind of success against better players in the NBA while facing the pressure of playing for his hometown team. But he came through with flying colors in the Lakers’ win over the Spurs, hitting clutch shots and finishing with seven points in 13 minutes and was a team-high +18 in plus-minus.
Considering his limited NBA experience and fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing for the Lakers, one might expect the 27-year-old to have some nerves.
But Wear said that wasn’t the case at all, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Actually, no, not really. I’ve been thinking of this moment for three years, ever since I played in the NBA. I wasn’t really nervous. I just knew my role was to come and play to the best of my ability and let fate take its course.”
Wear credited his success to the synergy between the Lakers and their G League team, saying that how similar South Bay and Los Angeles’ playbooks are made his adjustment to the NBA more seamless.
“It definitely makes the transition easier. I definitely felt at home with the plays on the offensive end. I was getting the shots I normally get in South Bay, so it was nothing different.”
If Wear continues to make the type of impact he did against the Spurs, he might be able to get even more comfortable on the Lakers’ roster, because he’ll almost assuredly at least get a second 10-day contract, and maybe even a roster spot for the remainder of the season.
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