i wouldn't call him a headcase. aside from parking in handicap spots, there was never a time where he behaved in a manner that would get him in trouble with the law or anything serious like that he was just immature at times and it showed in some of the stuff he'd say or do. nothing that came at a cost to the team though like helljumper said, his knees ended his career. he may have been immature but it did not affect his play whatsoever
Was not a huge fan. His heart was never in the game. He never passed out of the post, only looked to shoot every time. That lack of facilitating killed our offense when Mike Brown tried to center it around him. All his easy buckets came due to Kobe pulling the defense away from the post and onto the perimeter. In games Kobe was injured, Bynum shot something like 42% trying to be the primary option. He was a one-dimensional player not fit to be a part of an offense centered around ball movement. Also played awful defense, aside from that 17-1 stretch in 2011 when he bought in for a bit. Huge liability in the PnR, and would likely have been torched having to switch onto guards in today's NBA (think Okafor with better post moves and more injury prone). With the injury concerns, attitude problems, and the fact that he contributed very little to both our titles in that era, I won't miss him.
Attitude was way exaggerated and when that subject was brought up by some, many were there to rebuke it. It was a non-issue. He wasn't a big media fan and liked his space, but in general was ok to everyone. End of that story. He is no more of a bad guy then Kareem but about as dire a personality as him. Bynum was one of my favorite players and I miss his game. He would be in his prime right now @30 and if he hadn't had injury problems no doubt still beasting and dominating. Maybe we didn't have such a bad 5 year stretch and another title or 2 because even with Kobe and Pau regressing a little in '11 and '12, if Bynum had been coming into his prime then we would have got a few more chips. I much preferred his style to Dwight. Fundamentals and knowledge in the paint and the presence that the back-to-the basket style play brought. Don't even bring up what would have happened if he hadn't been injury prone AND the CP3 deal had gone through. grrr
He liked bowling and carrying playmates while injured. That was bad. But he was tall, long, and skilled, and also juked Shaq, slammed on him, and then elbowed him as a kid. That was hard not to like.
Not another planet, just ahead of his time. Brook Lopez would routinely take that shot in our system and we saw it as an asset. Bynum had a decent stroke. If he was healthy and allowed to develop his outside game, I think he could shoot from three at a similar rate as Brook.
The accounts of his attitude may have been exaggerated, especially on the national media. But most of us here (and on CL) followed his career more closely than anyone else; I never liked his attitude. Just my opinion. Personally I enjoyed the lineups with Pau/LO far more at the time. The level of versatility (specifically passing) coming from the 4/5 spot was truly unique. Those two dancing circles around Dwight Howard in the 2009 finals will always be one of my favorite Laker memories. But AB was more talented than anyone ever gave him credit for. He was key in 2010 (the paint was a warzone... maybe the last finals like that) and he deserved his All Star bid when he got it. It's a shame his knees went south after those injuries.
I was sold on the Bynum hype when he told Sasha to give him the f'n ball, the dunk on Miami Shaq (and picking up a tech) and became the next best C in the league alongside Dwight. I think his attitude towards basketball took a downturn not because of his personality but more due to his injuries. I often see pics of him in unexpected places. I'm glad to see he's at least enjoying life and comfortable doing his thing away from basketball.
Do people not remember his inability to pass out of the post? And how he was a black hole on offense once he got the ball?
He put up good scoring numbers on offense because we ran: 4 out 1 in, which was designed to feed him every time down. It's the same offense the Spurs ran with Tim Duncan and David Robinson. But ultimately his inability to facilitate, which the 4 and 5 positions in the offense are required to do (and Bynum was not Duncan or Robinson), caused our offensive efficiency as a team to plummet and get bounced by the Thunder in 5 games. Check his shooting %s when Kobe was out. Without Kobe to spoon feed him, he failed miserably. Gasol was much better at facilitating from the post. I just wish he had Bynum's toughness. Ultimately Bynum wasn't a big factor in either of our playoff runs where we won a ring, and I won't miss him. I get that Bynum brings back a sense of nostalgia to our last glory days. But to be honest, he didn't contribute much to our rings, which is why we always played Gasol/Odom down the stretch. And he severely limited our options on offense and defense. Which is why many fans were frustrated with him, even wanting to trade him for Chris Bosh at one point.
like i said, he was right up there with dwight as the best C in the league from 07-12 him not being able to pass out of the post is an afterthought
