Andrew Bynum
| Los Angeles Lakers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 27, 1987 Plainsboro, New Jersey |
| Nationality | USA |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 275 lb (125 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. Joseph High School |
| NBA draft | 2005: 10th overall |
| Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Playing career | 2005–present |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Andrew Bynum (born October 27 1987, in Plainsboro, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He is the youngest player in the league.[1] Bynum is listed as 7'0" and 275 lbs and plays center.
High school career
Bynum originally attended Solebury School in New Hope (Pennsylvania), but transfered after his freshman year. He later attended St. Joseph High School, in Metuchen, New Jersey. As a senior, he averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots per game.
Professional career
He 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 (tenth overall selection) as the youngest player ever drafted, beating the previous record by the Portland Trail Blazers' selection of Jermaine O'Neal in 1996. Bynum was 17 years, eight months and two days old.
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, 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 Bynum, knocking the rookie to the floor. On the next play, Bynum got the ball in the low post, faked right, then spun left around O'Neal and dunked the ball. He celebrated as he ran down the court and pushed O'Neal, who retaliated by swinging an arm into Bynum's upper chest. Both players received technical fouls for the incident.[2].
After selecting him in the draft, the Lakers hired Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a special assistant to work with the team's big men, especially Bynum. With Lakers centers Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown injured at the start of the 2006-07 season, Bynum has served as their starting center for the beginning of the season. He has surprised many with how quickly his skills have developed.
Mitch Kupchak, General Manager of the Lakers, put to rest rumors of the team trading Bynum, to which Kupchak said in response "we're not going to trade Andrew."[3]
Career highlights
- Posted 20 points, a career high against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 7th, 2006.
- Posted a career high 7 blocks and a career high 16 rebounds against the Charlotte Bobcats on January 26th, 2007.