Los Angeles Lakers NBA Champion Speaks brutally On What Happened To Andrew Bynum

Los Angeles Lakers NBA Champion Speaks brutally On What Happened To Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum was once among the best players in the entire NBA.

By the time he was 23, he was arguably a top-three center.

Dreyfuss: “I mean, he was killing. Was it just the injury?”

Ariza: “I think it was a number of things that probably happened. Again, this league is taxing mentally, it’s a lot of things that you would have to deal with that people probably don’t know. Plus, having to deal with whatever he was going through in his personal life. Those things can all take you off your course, man. Knock you off your square. Life happened, I would say. We don’t know if he’s in a space or a state where he’s cool with where he is. You never know. As far as his game is concerned, he was one of the youngest players drafted in the history of the game. He just blossomed and got better and better and better and better and better every single year.”

Bynum was the tenth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Lakers.

He made one All-Star Game and helped the Lakers win two NBA Championships.

His career averages are 11.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.6 blocks per contest while shooting 55.6% from the field in 418 regular season games for the Lakers, Cavs and Pacers.

Ariza also added: “Not to get too deep into it, but he was very close with his family, and when he lost his mother, that took a real toll on him, like for real. That s**t is not light. You can’t replace your mother. You only get one of them. Knowing what his mom meant to him and what his family means to him. I’m sure that had a lot to do with how we don’t really hear much about him right now.”