From "problematic No. 1 pick" to "locker room lion" Ayton has found a home with the Lakers

Translator's Note: The original article was published in The Athletic. The data in the article are as of the time of publication of the original article (November 17, local time). The dates and times involved are all local time.

The Lakers made a T-shirt for Deandre Ayton, with half of his face on the front and half of a lion's face. The back of the T-shirt features his name, number and Bahamian flag.

Ayton has been proudly displaying this T-shirt in the team's locker room for the past few weeks. He beamed with pride Saturday when he saw head coach J.J. Redick wearing the T-shirt under his jacket as he got off the team bus and attended the pregame press conference.

"We just want him to be a lion," Redick said before Saturday's win over the Bucks. "That's all. We want him to be a lion." After scoring at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game -- one in which he guarded Giannis Antetokounmpo and helped the Lakers beat the Bucks 119-95 in the second game of a back-to-back -- it's no wonder he wanted to roar when asked about that T-shirt.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Ayton was emotional and spoke fiercely. He faced the controversy surrounding him head-on. He struggled to adjust to new expectations. he shouted angrily. He quietly reflects on what it feels like to be accepted. Sometimes he was furious, sometimes silent, and his mood fluctuated several times.

This conversation lasted for more than three minutes.

"I'm going to be honest." Ayton said in an interview with The Athletic.

How many of them are true? It's hard to say.

He seemed sincere when he talked about the buzz surrounding him - he joined the Lakers this summer after being bought out by the Trail Blazers and ending a tumultuous experience. Before that, while playing for the Suns, Ayton's reputation as the top pick in the draft was also controversial because he was in the same class as Luka Doncic.

"They said if I screw up here, this is going to be my last year," Ayton said. They would all just stare at what he couldn't do.

"I keep my anger to myself." Ayton said after shouting the first two sentences.

Ayton said he really doesn't understand why Lakers front office -- Rob Pelinka and Redick -- want to call him a Lion. "I'm Domin Ayton," he said, pointing to his nickname.

But after several emotional ups and downs, Ayton seemed to realize the most important truth, which was the message that the Lakers had been trying to convey to him and that he really listened to.

"Love those who love you, that's it, love those who love you." Ayton said.

The Lakers have been looking for a higher-level center since acquiring Anthony Davis through the trade, so they love Ayton. Ayton also responded with an outstanding performance, which is exactly what the Lakers need.

"We need him at his best so that we can reach our ceiling," Austin Reeves told The Athletic said in an interview, "If he can do it, then we can become a very good team. If he can't, I still think we can win some games with our talent. But to become the strong team we ideally want, we need him to play his best in every game."

In the middle of the second quarter of the game the Lakers won, Doncic attracted a double team and then found Ayton, who cut from the right side of the penalty area. When he caught the ball and looked toward the basket, there was no one in front of him.

But just as he was about to put the basket with his right hand, Antetokounmpo burst out of the blind spot of his vision and nailed the ball to the backboard.

Later on the sideline, Ayton and Reeves discussed the play, and the Lakers guard shared his strategy for dealing with a devastating defender like Antetokounmpo. When the two Lakers players talked about how to correctly read the defense and how to quickly determine the position of the help defender and take advantage of it, Ayton suddenly became enlightened.

"If you can identify where the threat is coming from, then you don't have to read the defense and just know what to do. That makes things simpler." Reeves explained.

"He said at the time, 'No one has ever told me this, no one has ever told me to analyze the situation before making moves.' And then he said, 'Thank you.' Seriously, he just said, 'Thank you.'"

In the 14 games so far this season, the Lakers and their center have played pure basketball. Ayton came to Los Angeles after his time with the Suns and Trail Blazers with a lot to prove — and a lot to disprove.

"Unfortunately, this is how the world works. Before you meet a person, you will hear all kinds of things about them, and people will try to create a certain personality for a person. The best thing to do nowadays is to judge a person's character yourself," Jeffs said, "What you hear and what I hear about him is that he is difficult to coach and moody, but the truth is completely opposite."

The Lakers' locker room is like a stage, and before the game on Saturday night, Ayton was in the center of the stage, completely in the spotlight. The music was deafening, but Ayton wasn't happy. Ayton grabbed the tablet that controlled the house music. He and Jake LaRavia began discussing an NBA YoungBoy song that sounded a lot like another song by the singer, but neither knew the title..

So Ayton started playing his own music.

For the second consecutive game, an hour before the jump ball, the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Medley" blasted from the team's portable speakers. With Austin Reeves and others looking on, Ayton began to dance on his own.

"They said this is my last chance." Ayton yelled as Bobby Hatfield sang "I Need Your Love."

Later, Ayton played "Lean on Me" and told his teammates that he needed each of them. Then, Ayton played "Stand by Me" again and shouted at everyone that even if it was the second night of back-to-back, "Fuck me, wake up."

"Then give it a try." Ayton said.

Ayton’s movements were unrestrained and his voice was loud, and no one sitting in front of his locker expressed disgust.

This is a kind of wild energy-but Ayton can always prove himself with his performance on the court. When he scored a double-double, the Lakers' record was 6-0. He had a plus-minus of +35 against the Pelicans on Friday. Against the Bucks on Saturday, he scored 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block, with a plus-minus of +12.

"He draws strength from the energy of the team, but also from the trust, encouragement and affirmation," Redick said after the road victory over the Bucks. "It took us eight to 10 years in the preseason to figure that out. And once we did it, it felt really good to watch him grow with this group and fully integrate into this group."

On Saturday night, Ayton was fully engaged. Laughing, shouting, furious, joking, he was a mixture of emotions and expressed them all without fear.

"I am the enemy of the entire world," Ayton said at one point, "and this is what you don't understand."

Ayton knows that of course this is not true. Perhaps, the outside world's perception of his winning attitude made him hold back his energy. Perhaps he feels he's been unfairly cast as a locker-room nuisance or a wasted talent. And maybe, that did make him angry.

But after playing for the Lakers for 14 games, Ayton knows that no matter what he faces, he knows that he is not fighting alone.

So, regarding that T-shirt, whether it was that T-shirt or all the love the Lakers poured into the center, Ayton felt it.

"As soon as I got here," Ayton said, "the Lakers welcomed me with open arms and said, 'DA, we love you.'" 

Author: Dan Woike

Translator: GWayNe

source:7mbong com