30 NBA Players in 30 Days: Desmond Bane
Day 26 of our 2023 NBA season countdown brings us to the Memphis Grizzlies to talk about one of the league’s rising young players, Desmond Bane. Every NBA fan knows that there is only one true household name right now in Memphis, and that’s Ja Morant. He is the north star for the franchise, and they will follow him until that light can’t shine anymore. The Grizzlies will be missing another player from their young core in Jaren Jackson Jr. The impressive, young big man had surgery at the end of June to repair a stress fracture in his right foot, and he is expected to miss a good chunk of the season. The report is that Jackson is supposed to miss 4–6 months, but big players with foot injuries are always very fragile to deal with. I would not be surprised if he misses closer to 8 months because coming back from a serious injury for centers is very tricky. Morant, who also missed a chunk of games this past year because of a knee sprain, is always teetering the line for a potential injury every time he barrels his way to the rim for his patented acrobatic finishes. He is always one unlucky landing away from missing an entire season in a blink of an eye. The third part of the Grizzlies’ core is Desmond Bane, who had a nice rookie year as a role player. He exponentially improved in his 2nd season, and is set to be a part of the team’s future permanently, along with Morant and Jackson.
Last season, Bane posted 18.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, and shot 46.1 FG%, with an insane 43.6 FG3%. He finished 2nd last season in FG3%, and it is hard not to believe he can lead the league in that category, while also making closer to 300 threes. The thing is, we should have seen this improvement coming. During his rookie year, he shot around the same percentage at 43.2% on about 4 attempts per game. He was at 7 attempts per game last season and doubled his points per game average. He could easily become a 20+ points per game scorer next year if he gets to shoot 2–3 more attempts per game. With Jackson missing a good amount of the season, and the Grizzlies also not having enough established shooters on their roster, Bane could enter a “Splash Bro” level of volume and efficiency this season. He had a better percentage when he had more volume on a team that ranked in the bottom half (17th) of the league in FG3%. The Grizzlies are going to certainly need Bane to take that next step, with newly acquired Danny Green out with a torn ACL, and their next potential reliable shooters being young players. Aside from his elite shooting from deep, Bane is no slouch on the defensive end. Despite his body type looking like an elite running back in the NFL and his wingspan being shorter than his height, he is a solid defender, and there is no reason he can improve as he gets older.
As shooters in the NBA get better and better throughout the years, the more they will be compared to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Right now it would be blasphemous to put any young guy in that category, but Bane could definitely be knocking on their door the more years he plays, considering he will find better ways to get his shot off. Missing Jackson for an extensive period of time will hurt the Grizzlies, and Morant can’t do it by himself. Bane is going to accept a larger role on both ends of the floor, and he has the mentality and skill to produce. He is another Memphis draft pick that really does embody the “Grit n’ Grind” mantra that the franchise has been able to carry over from the Conley, Gasol, and Zach Randolph era.
