Thomas Bryant Plays a Huge Role In Lakers Season Turnaround | Lakers Return Story

Everybody chipped in. That's what family do. But one guy in particular, he embraces the family concept, believes in it, and we're doing it. And it may seem corny, I really don't give a damn. TB. Thank you. Appreciate it, man. You ready to roll through? Let's do it. Let's do it. This offseason, as the Lakers sought to add a big man and amplify their offense, a familiar name rejoined the organization. You're the first thing right here on the right. First one on the right. I like this. Back to the original number, baby. Back where it all started. Number 31. It's the 31 that works right there. It's like another surreal moment, man, just being back in here. Makes me feel like me. I love it. And with the 42nd pick in the 2017 NBA draft, the Utah Jazz select Thomas Bryant from Indiana University. Bryant's career originally began in Los Angeles in 2017 after a last-minute deal with the Utah Jazz. There's a report that they traded two picks to get you to the Lakers. I mean, is this the first you're hearing about? Yeah, this is the first I'm hearing about it. That's crazy. Bro, you're off to L.A. I feel blessed to be with the Lakers, man. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Feels good, man. I'm on The Lake Show. After his rookie year, the Wizards claimed Bryant off waivers, where he spent four seasons developing versatile skills the Purple and Gold wanted back. ATB. Looking good over there. It feels great to be back here in L.A. It worked out kind of crazy just from what they needed and what I needed. Just glad it happened. What L.A. fans are going to see different out of me from my experience in the league is just the attention to detail I hold for myself and the passion that I bring to the game of basketball. Appreciate that. We've got some news. Let's change gears. The Lakers signed free agent guard Dennis Schroeder to a one-year deal for $2.64 million. Dennis, first off, welcome back. Do you feel like you have unfinished business here? Yeah, for sure. I mean, I said it in my exit meeting, I think, that we have unfinished business. You know, we're playing with Barr and A.D. Now it's us, and we just got to take care of this stuff and win a chip. Like Bryant, Schroeder's returning for a second time, having played for the Lakers during the 2020-2021 season, and after stops in Boston and Houston last year, it was time for a reunion. I'm going to make sure everything I can do, I bring to the team to win ballgames. I mean, Coach Darwin knows. He knows me for 10 years now. He knows what I bring, and whatever it is, I'm going to do whatever to get a W and finish the unfinished business. However, as the optimism around both additions swelled, things abruptly changed in an instant when Bryant and Schroeder both suffered thumb injuries, requiring matching surgeries just one day apart. It was good to have somebody that you could talk to, you know, feed off the same energy and know what you're going through with the same injury. I mean, he got on his left hand, I'm on my right, but, I mean, it was pretty cool for these circumstances. We had the same mishaps, same things going up and down, you know, talking to each other, what he does, what I do. These are things that you go through with surgery and everything, so it was good to have someone that knew what we were going through. Morning. The process of rehab can often feel isolating. However, in this case, both athletes were able to lean on not only each other, but also on one of the world's leading recovery specialists. Good morning. Yeah, it feels good. Yeah? So both Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schroeder sustained an injury to their thumb ligament. It's called the UCL. They both had surgery, and they're both actively in rehab right now. That's your best yet. Is it? Uh-huh. It feels great, too. Arch as much as you can. Is that your max? Improving again. Fantastic. Their rehab trajectory, you would almost think it would be following the same recipe all the way through, and they're completely different plans, and it's very tailored to how they're presenting. Do you have any pain when I push here? No, it's not a normal feeling. I still feel it, like, on the joint. Yeah. But it's no pain. OK. We've been working every day for, like, one and a half hours. I feel comfortable. So she's taking good care of me, and we're heading into the right direction. Are you sore in here? It's good. And nothing along the star line anymore? Mm-mm. Awesome. From the demands of rehab, your tissue has responded perfectly. But we still have work to do. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling really, really confident with my thumb. Just along with her help over these last two weeks, I feel super confident over it. So I know, like, by the time I get back, I have no setbacks. For these athletes, a day away from their sport is just... It's an identity crisis for them. Sorry. I think it's beyond empathy. I think it's understanding that there's a person behind the athlete and really developing a bond and a level of trust to be able to work with them that intimately, from a point where they're injured and at the lowest level mentally. So you're going to start with this one today? Four sets of 25. 20 easy, five fast. Anatomy in the hand is quite complex. There are so many muscles that we're taking into account. There's things that Dennis is able to do that Thomas can't, and there's things that Thomas can do that Dennis can't. Bravo. If you put a gripper in their hands and they just, you know, grip mindlessly, they're not necessarily going through full range, and so that activity is actually a sustained activity, so they have to be using those muscles for an extended period of time. And then the board, it's just a challenge. Green, yellow, red, green, blue, green, blue, green, yellow. These guys are athletes. They like competitive elements, and it's just a lot more fun to give them a challenge and they feel good about that. Good job. That's hard. That's hard. Of course it is. I've learned over the course of my career that the more I can bring their sport into the rehab, the faster the recovery for them. I want you to catch here, not here. What I really admire about Dennis is that he has been incredibly committed to the rehab process. We laid out his plan, and he has been a stellar student. What do you think? Yes, we did. Good job. Thomas was also a real hardship. He was about to board a plane to go to the first home game and suddenly had to reroute and have surgery the next day. And emotionally, that is incredibly challenging for anybody. Excellent. He's just gracious through the process and finds the good in what's happening, and he still finds a way to smile and be happy with the progress that we're making. That was a job. Everybody tipped in. That's what family do. Everybody, everybody had their jersey on. But one guy in particular, who was just in the stay-ready group, and had to go out there and bust his ass against a two-time MVP. And he stepped up because he's bought in, he embraces the family concept, believes in it, and we're doing it. And it may seem corny, I really don't give a damn. He's back out here busting his ass for us, giving it everything he got on both sides of the basketball. That's what this is supposed to be about. That is our identity. The Lakers, after their worst second quarter in franchise history, Big Game James, saw them down by 25. Their biggest comeback win of the year. They outscored the Blazers 75-41 in the second half. And they win up in Portland, where they have not won since December of 2019. That was good times. It's a miracle. It's a miracle tonight. We were talking about them getting the lead down to 15, just chipping away at it, get it to 10, and they could possibly have a chance. And they did a great job with some help from Thomas Bryan and some role players. We've talked at length a number of times over these past 20-something games without AD just how Thomas Bryan has come into his own. It's great to see him healthy and thriving and how he's making himself some money down the road and where he belongs on this team and his role. He's won games for the Lakers. Tonight he was fantastic, guys. He tied his career high of 31 points. He was 12 of 15 from the field. He had four threes. He was also three for three from the free throw line. Check out the rebounds, too, D. Fish. Fourteen rebounds, five of those offensive with those two put-back hammers that you will see in the highlights and also two blocks. So he did it on both ends of the floor. Remember, there was a stretch where Wenyon was getting a lot of those minutes defensively down the stretch, but it was Thomas Bryan tonight that they relied on. Nobody needs to draw up plays for you. You don't have to be a feature guy. You don't have to start. You don't have to play a certain amount of minutes. You just have to have positive impact on the game. That's what Thomas Bryan does almost every time he steps on the floor. I think in the second half what changed was just our demeanor. We all talked about it at halftime. We knew that second quarter got away from us. We wanted to give a better push in the second half no matter what happened, down by whatever, up by whatever. We have to come out with that same mentality that we did the second half and the first half. For me personally, I just wanted to be available for my teammates. I know my teammates have a lot of confidence in me to make the right decisions, make some shots out there. I got to give it to them. Those guys really put me in a great position. I was trying to be aggressive out there and take whatever they gave me out there, and luckily it went my way. Thomas, as much as you can share, what was that halftime atmosphere like and what were the words that resonated? It was quiet at first, but then all of us got around together. We tried to figure out – we all were talking, communication. I think that's what really changed with the second half for us. All of us were communicating, seeing what we saw, saying what we saw and giving each other each ideas about what we can do to get better out there. I think that's a great thing when you have teammates in the locker room that take constructive criticism in the right way, whether it's me or anybody else out there. We responded well and Pat Bev was really a go-to guy that gave us the energy and resiliency that we needed out there. Thomas, two questions. One, you said the second quarter got away from you guys. Where did you feel that slippage most? I guess in crunch time, down the stretch, you guys have been through now a bunch of wild stuff this season. Do you feel like those lessons are starting to kind of build up and help you guys navigate some of this? Absolutely. I feel like those lessons are really, really helping us in the long run. There's been a lot of games where we were close by and we lost some and a lot of games that we were close and we won some, but we want to get on the winning side more often than the losing side. What was your first question? I'm sorry. How about the second quarter where it got away from you guys? Second quarter, I think it was our communication. We let some easy buckets get away from us and our defensive rotations weren't as quick as they were in the second half. That was our really go-to thing of what we communicated about. Thomas, I was looking at your stats throughout the third quarter and it was almost no miss. 100% from three to remind me of the game you had with the Wizards. I think it was a perfect game. Does these games feel different? Yeah. This one does feel different because, one, we're on the road, but in a hostile environment, it's a great team. Really, I didn't even really think of that right there. For me, it's just like I can't think about the past. I have to keep looking at the future, but it's funny that you brought that up. I didn't even realize that until now, and that's funny because I didn't realize that either until I was done with the game. It was a fun game out there. I got some buckets to go in for me that I've been wanting to get in for a while, so I'm happy with that.