Hasheem Thabeet Still Developing

When Hasheem Thabeet was selected as the second overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, playing in games for the NBA D-League's Dakota Wizards was probably the last thing on his mind. After all, no player drafted lower than sixth had ever been assigned to the NBA D-League since the NBA affiliation system came into affect in the 2005-06 season. But after playing sparingly for most of his rookie season, Dakota was where Thabeet found himself in late February after the Grizzlies opted to assign him to see more playing time and to develop his game.

The assignment turned out to be a success, as Thabeet averaged 15.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in five games with the Wizards. More importantly, after returning to Memphis, Thabeet saw more playing time as a result of an injury to starting center Marc Gasol. In the final eight games of the season in April, Thabeet averaged 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting .647 from the field. Now playing for Memphis in the Las Vegas Summer League, Thabeet is showing more signs of living up to his lofty draft status.