It's been a half season or so since we visited Mr. John Bryant over in Europe. I hear the Lakers could use a big man. And it looks like Mr. Bryant is pretty much still crushing the competition in Europe. And on the plus side, since he's shooting 42.6% from three, he probably fits really well in the D'Antoni system.
| 12/13 Season | G | MIN | fgm | fga | 3FGM | 3FGA | FTM | FTA | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | PF | ST | TO | BLK | PTS |
| Totals | 20 | 578 | 125 | 246 | 23 | 54 | 57 | 73 | 41 | 165 | 206 | 30 | 34 | 8 | 37 | 33 | 330 |
| Per48 | n/a | n/a | 10.4 | 20.4 | 1.9 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 6.1 | 3.4 | 13.7 | 17.1 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 27.4 |
| Per40 | n/a | n/a | 8.7 | 17.0 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 11.4 | 14.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 22.8 |
eFG%: 61.7%
TS%: 59.3%
3FG%: 42.6% (!)
FT%: 78%
These stats are from the official stats on the BBL website. Looks like Mr. Bryant is well on his way to a second MVP title, unless the voters are batshit insane. He's scoring 16.5 points a game in 28 minutes on 60% true shooting, while being the best rebounder in the league (indeed, he's so far ahead of 2nd place he could probably log several zero-rebound games and still win the rebounding title). He's also a pretty good shot blocker, and doesn't turn the ball over much given how often he handles it (20 FGA per 48 indicates he is the "go-to" guy on his squad). Great shooter + great rebounder = winz the basketball gamez. He is basically the Kevin Love of the Bundesliga.
Speaking of Love, that's an interesting comparison. Bryant and Love put up very similar numbers in 2007/08, when Love was a freshman and Bryant a junior (Love was a better passer, Bryant a better shot blocker). The next year, Bryant became a truly dominant player, and catapulted to a monstrous 18.3 rebounds per 40, number one in the NCAA. Other players in the top 10 were Faried, Blair, Griffin, Jon Brockman, and Ed Davis. Some of those guys are pretty good at basketball. Oh, and he scored a meager 18 points a game on 64% true shooting! He posted a 21.3 WS/40, which is...well, monstrous (Blake Griffin put up a 21.2).
I realize that Euro stats do not translate to NBA stats, and NCAA stats don't always either. But he isn't playing against high school competition over there. Most professional Euro clubs could thrash most NCAA teams, including most ranked teams. It's laughable that no NBA team seems to think he's worth the veteran's minimum (I have talked to...sources...that tell me Bryant isn't particularly well paid in the BBL, I can't speak for him, obviously, but if that's true, wouldn't he likely leap at an NBA vet-minimum contract?). Raise your hand if you really think giving money to Rasheed Wallace is better than giving a guy like this a shot?
You can help me spread the word with the #FreeJohnBryant twitter hashtag!
