After Andrew Bynum was suspended indefinitely by the Cavs, Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posted his thoughts on the center who once had the potential to be great.
Via CBS Sports:
I believe Andrew has always had the potential to help a team when he puts his heart into it. He just doesn’t seem to be consistent with his commitment to the game. That can lead to alot of frustration for any team that has signed him.
When I worked with Andrew I found him to be bright & hardworking but I think he got bored with the repetitive nature of working on basketball fundamentals day in and day out… but they are the keys to long term success.
In my opinion Andrew is the type of person who walks to the beat of “a different drummer”. So we won’t know the facts until Andrew decides to tell us what actually is the issue and shares his thoughts. @KAJ33
Abdul-Jabbar worked with Bynum during the younger player’s time with the Lakers, but stopped in 2009, believing he had “outgrown” the tutelage of the NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer, according to reports. In 2012, Abdul-Jabbar had this to say about Bynum:
“Andrew has been up and down on (being committed to winning). There are times he wants to play, do a great job and he goes out and does it. Then there are other times where it seems like he’s not focused.”
“When I first started working with him, he was eager to learn,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “He appreciated me shortening the learning curve. Once he figured he did everything he wanted to do in terms of learning, he didn’t want me to bother him constantly going over the fundamentals.”
Abdul-Jabar was 100% correct about Bynum so it makes sense that he couldn’t wait for his ‘I Told You So’ moment.