Three Reasons Hasheem Thabeet Failed for Memphis Grizzlies

A Young Basketball Knowledge

If a poll were to be distributed among all other 59 picks within the 2009 NBA Draft, the majority would probably say they have had a basketball in their hands since elementary school, if not prior to that age. In the United States, basketball is one of the most popular sports. Gyms with courts run abundant, as do basketball goals in families’ backyards. For some people in lesser situations, this is not the case (which is a big reason for the NBA’s initiative to continue to expand globally).

Hasheem Thabeet did not have that luxury while growing up in Tanzania. He did not play basketball until he reached the age of 15. To put this into greater perspective, the Memphis Grizzlies debuted rookie Thabeet on October 28th, 2009, when Hasheem was 22 years and 254 days of age. Most of his peers had been shooting hoops, if not playing competitively, for more than double the amount of years Hasheem had known basketball.

For this reason, playing on the biggest stage basketball has to offer with such a young basketball knowledge, it was instantly a long shot the Grizzlies to witness stardom from Hasheem Thabeet. But how could you blame them? That 7’3″ height paired with a 7’6″ wingspan, Memphis truly believed they had selected a future Defensive Player of the Year.

The Grizzlies and Hasheem do deserve credit in this particular statistic: In just 13 minutes per game as an NBA rookie, Thabeet averaged 1.3 blocks per game. If you do the math, that is 3.6 blocks per 36 minutes (an approximation of a starter’s role). That number could have earned him future DPOY honors. However, he was too foul-prone and was not built for a long nightly haul game-in and game-out.

Hasheem, weighing in at 263 pounds, was packing around an enormous frame in a very physical game. Aside from his blocking ability, he did not have much else. His skills were incredibly raw when it came to scoring, rebounding, and pretty much anything else.