Updated: April 15, 2012Stardom Is Finally CallingReshawn Tyson has proven that the best has yet to come!
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By Woody Hannes
ESPN.com WriterThe fifth seeded Seattle Stealth prepared for their first round series against the fourth seeded Utah Jazz in another open practice. Head Coach Will Sit worked his players hard till the end, the session ended with the players running sprints. At the conclusion of another draining training run, the reporters surrounded two players. One of them was Kevin Durant; the leader and All-Star forward. Three time NBA scoring champion and currently averaging 28 points a game this season.
The other player was Reshawn Tyson.
Now, much has been said about young Tyson; although not that young as he is as young as Durant. Durant was a star from his second season onwards and even in his rookie year he was handed the reins of the team as well as half of the shots. Durant quickly established himself as a future star and has honed his scoring game to a tee.
On the other hand, Tyson (picked two years after Durant) has had it tough. For a team that has always lacked a solid second option and a starter at his position, one would expect that he would have been a lock to start games. Instead, then-coach George Karl (Now an assistant on Sit’s bench) decided he needed to be eased into his role as an NBA player.
Of course, all would have been well if Tyson was playing behind a consistent and talented player but he was playing behind, of all players, Adam Morrison. Once Tyson finally got a chance to prove his mettle in his maiden playoff campaign in 2009, he helped lead the Stealth to a sweep of the defending NBA Champions, the Hornets. Tyson’s suffocating defence forced one-time MVP Chris Paul to look like he belonged in a different zipcode as opposed to Tyson. Not to mention the fact that Durant was actually injured and it was up to Tyson, David Lee, and Jeff Green to step up and deliver a confidence boosting second round series win.
Coach Will Sit remembers the series vividly, “I was awestruck because I had been told that his (Tyson’s) development was going take a while. I didn’t know he had that up his sleeve. He even played point guard for a lot of the time he was on the floor because Jason (Kidd) was also a bit banged up.”
Many felt that Tyson’s second round performance was a sign of things to come but they would have to wait a while before he would get another chance as the team went off on a different tangent and signed veteran guard Raja Bell. One of the holes the team dug themselves into was offering the washed up chucker a starting role. Durant immediately struck up a tight network between himself, Bell, Lee, Kidd, and later; new-comer Andrew Bogut. Karl would stick with all of them as his starters.
Naturally, Tyson was unhappy about how it all panned out and it was rumoured that he had demanded a trade to get out of Seattle. Apart from a handful of Tyson fans (He has a fan base from his Tar Heel days), no one really worried that the young player was unhappy. However, Sit (Then the general manager of the team) stuck by his embattled player and basically refused to trade him away.
Tyson has always looked back and appreciated how Sit threw him a lifeline of sorts. In an interview two months ago, he said, “If Coach didn’t say no to my trade requests, then I wouldn’t have become a starter last season. I wouldn’t have been able to have stuck around until this season which is the best of my career so far.”
The stars had aligned for Tyson after Raja Bell was injured in January last season. Tyson was elevated to the starting position and thrived before succumbing to his own injury in March. By then, the Stealth had gone on a remarkable winning run that had lifted them from the bottom of the standings up into the playoff pack. Durant would finish the work and lift the side to their second straight playoff berth.
Unfortunately, a lot of focus was on the exploits of Durant, many people forgot to credit Tyson for his contributions. “He was underrated for us,” Jason Kidd admits, “I think this season, he has shown that he is a much more refined player than everyone thinks he is. People say he’s a scorer but he has a great all-around game. We might not have missed him last season but that was because we didn’t appreciate him yet. This season has been eye-opening for the team as to what Reshawn has to offer.”
After working his way from the reserves into the starting line-up twice and also battling injuries as well as off-court troubles, Tyson has done well for himself. His path to proving that he was worthy of the 2009 third overall pick (Even more important seeing that the Stealth traded up to get to him) was a much harder road than most lottery picks; since most lottery picks become starters in their rookie years.
But all of this shouldn’t surprise anyone as Tyson is known as a hard worker and we all knew he was talented since his days at UNC. The throng of media surround Tyson asking him about his thoughts of how he thinks the team will fare and whether he is ready to make a solid contribution to the team. The third year swingman smiles and tries to answer all of the questions (Even one about his relationship with Durant; to which he replies, ‘We’re good.’).
Afterwards when the mania died down, Ty walked over and repeatedly says to me that he didn’t see this day coming. All of the hard work and perseverance had finally paid off. He had become relevant again. And he even reiterated how lucky he was that even when he was ready to quit, his supporters helped him back onto his feet. I told him that they wouldn’t have done that if they didn’t think he would have taken full advantage of that second chance.
And that’s what he has done; taken advantage of the second chance given to him. Most managers would have given up on a player who did not feel strong enough to stick out the harsh reality of not getting game time.
The most encouraging thing of all is that this past season has proven that Tyson is ready to take the next step.
The next step is towards stardom.