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Thomas Bryant is one of the biggest wild cards for the Los Angeles Lakers heading into next season (as the roster is currently constructed, at least).
Bryant only played 72 minutes for the Lakers last season, but he was downright dominant for their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. Bryant played in 37 games for South Bay (including 35 starts), and he averaged 19.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks in 30.7 minutes per game, while also shooting 59.5 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range.
That production was good enough for Bryant to earn a spot on the All-NBA G League First Team as a rookie, but chances are he’s hoping for a bit more NBA run this season over more G League accolades.
To that end, a day after video of Bryant looking dominant in a UCLA pick-up basketball run with Baron Davis dropped, we have video of Bryant’s impressive, personalized training regimen, via his Instagram account:
This is just offseason training — and there have been tons of players to look impressive in summer videos that do nothing of note in the regular season — but this looks like exactly the type of stuff that the Lakers are going to need from Bryant.
The shooting. The blowing by defenders off-the-dribble when they close too quickly. The post-up fades and emphatic dunks out of the pick and roll. These are exactly the skills that can help Bryant make an impact in the modern game on the offensive end.
Bryant’s defense at the pro level will still need work, and that’s not something to dismiss the importance of, but if he can start to show some skill on that end as well while continuing to flash the types of skills he demonstrated in the video above that make him the prototypical big man for the 2018 NBA, then the Lakers could very well have another draft steal on their hands heading into next season.
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