Regardless of where you’re taken in the NBA Draft, you can definitely expect some growing pains when you make the transition to the league as a rookie. At the end of the day, playing in the NBA is unlike playing anywhere else.
That’s why it’s not a surprise to see rookies struggling every now and then. They need to grow through their mistakes to continue their development and fulfill the potential that scouts saw in them, to begin with.
However, it seems like some young players take that way too far and end up making the headlines for the wrong reasons, as it happened to Oklahoma City Thunder’s rookie guard Theo Maledon.
Video: Theo Maledon Misses A Layup And A Dunk, Then Turns The Ball Over
Theo Maledon is already the early favorite to win this season’s Shaqtin A’ Fool MVP, as he missed a wide-open layup, then couldn’t connect on a dunk, and then turned the ball over on the very next possession.
Maledon has actually been pretty good for the Thunder this season but this sequence won’t be easy to forget. In fact, if you take a deeper look at the footage, you can tell just how disappointed his team’s bench was.
Then again, Maledon is one of the most experienced rookies in his class and he’s not likely to let that hilarious sequence take away his confidence, especially given how much of a long leash the team has given him during his first season in the Association.
While not a spectacular player, the young guard out of France has been a steady playmaker for the up-and-coming Thunder, averaging 8.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 three-pointers, and 0.9 steals per game this season. Sadly, tho, his rookie season will always be marked by one of the most humiliating videos in NBA history.
