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Andrew Bynum originally planned to attend the University of Connecticut but decided to forgo college and make himself eligible for the 2005 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Lakers (Andrew Bynum is the tenth player selected overall) as the youngest player ever drafted, beating the previous record by the Portland Trail Blazers' selection of Jermaine O'Neal in 1996. Andrew Bynum was 17 years, eight months and two days old, at that time.
This record will likely last for the foreseeable future, as the new collective bargaining agreement between NBA owners and the NBA Players' Association requires players entering the draft to be at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class and reach age 19 no later than December 31 of the calendar year of the draft.
On November 2, 2005, during the Lakers season opener against the Denver Nuggets, Andrew Bynum played six minutes and became the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game at 18 years and 6 days old. During the game, Andrew Bynum missed his two field goal attempts but had two rebounds and two blocked shots.
A memorable sequence of events took place in a game against the Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, beginning when Shaquille O'Neal dunked over Andrew Bynum , knocking the rookie to the floor. On the next play, Andrew Bynum got the ball in the low post, faked right, then spun left around O'Neal and dunked the ball. Andrew Bynum celebrated as he ran down the court and pushed O'Neal, who retaliated by swinging an arm into Andrew Bynum's upper chest. Both players received technical fouls for the incident.
After selecting him in the draft, the Lakers hired Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a Lakers special assistant to work with the Lakers big men especially the young Andrew Bynum. Under Abdul-Jabbar's tutelage, the Lakers hope Andrew Bynum develops into one of the NBA's best centers. With Lakers center Kwame Brown injured at the start of the 2006-2007 season, Andrew Bynum is expected to serve as their starting center for at least the beginning of the season.
Nicknames include "A-Bomb" and "Bynumite."
Andrew Bynum attended St. Joseph High School, in Metuchen, New Jersey. As a senior, Andrew Bynum averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots per game.
Andrew Bynum Scored a career-high 18 points and had a career-high 9 rebounds in 24 minutes vs. the Phoenix Suns on October 31, 2006, making seven of his eleven attempts from the field.
Andrew Bynum Strengths:
Prototypical NBA Center size at 7-foot and just under 300 pounds… Surprisingly athletic for a player of his size… Has a 33 inch vertical and a 7-foot-3-inch wingspan which helps him to excel at shot blocking and rebounding… Moves around well and is very mobile… Has soft hands and is very aggressive in the paint… Very young at 17 anda half years old… Has loads of potential …
Andrew Bynum Weaknesses:
Very raw specimen … Not very far along offensively… Lacks great foot speed which will hurt him while trying to defend NBA big men… Losing 20-30 pounds would definitely help with his conditioning… A project for whichever teams decides to take a chance on him… Will need a few years before he will be able to make any sort of an impact… Without college, he's missing out on some key development ... |