Lakers vote Brandon Bass “Teammate of the Year”

His teammates voted Brandon Bass as the “Teammate of the Year” Award winner for the Los Angeles Lakers, according to the NBA Player’s association. In a year in which the Lakers 17-65 record stood as the second-worst in the entire league, Bass (now with the Los Angeles Clippers) provided a solid veteran presence that helped keep the locker room from fracturing.

In addition to being one of the Lakers’ most helpful players on the court, with the team only being outscored by 2.6 points per 100 possessions during his minutes, Bass was also a mentor for the team’s younger players off of it. Following the season, Larry Nance, Jr. raved about Bass’ impact during an appearance on the Land O’ Lakers podcast with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky.

"I think I might have learned more from playing in the second unit with Brandon Bass than I did from anybody else this year," Nance, Jr. said while explaining the value of veterans for a young team. "He's just a pro, in every sense of the word, he's just a pro. He carries himself the right way, knows how to handle postgame interviews.

"He's just really diligent with his work and stuff like that. To see somebody that's been so successful in the league do all the stuff, and you're younger than him, it's just kind of like 'I'd better whip it into shape,' because if he's 29, and I'm 22, why shouldn't I be doing that too?"

Bass’ presence was certainly a welcome one for the Lakers’ last season, and this was a well-deserved honor for the well-traveled “glue guy.”

Here is the full breakdown of which player won the award for each team:

You can follow this author on Twitter at @hmfaigen.