Baron Davis Still Hoping To Make NBA Comeback
Baron Davis is still hopeful of making a return to the NBA despite not appearing in a game since the 2012 postseason.
NBA veteran Baron Davis is not giving up on his quest of returning to the league. Davis has been out of the league since suffering a gruesome knee injury with the New York Knicks during the 2012 postseason. But, he is hoping to get back into the league once again.
Davis made a bid to get back to the NBA last season when he signed with the NBA D-League. He went unclaimed through their waiver process, enabling him to sign with a team of his choice. Davis would select the Delaware 87ers, the D-League affiliate for the Philadelphia 76ers.
He didn’t make it back to the NBA, but it was still encouraging to see him get back on the court. Playing in the D-League was a step in the right direction for his return, but it is one that he plans on changing.
Davis talked to Jesse Dougherty of the Los Angeles Times, and he relayed that Davis will take a different approach this time. The D-League approach is not one that he will take again, saying,
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"“Nah, I’m trying to get back to the NBA, the real thing.”"
Davis played in six games with the 87ers last season, and flashed some of his old abilities that made him a fan favorite in the NBA. He averaged 12.8 points in 22 minutes per game, but it doesn’t sound like we will see Davis gracing the D-League courts this season.
But we have seen Davis on other courts keeping in shape to try and realize his dream of making it back to the NBA. Davis has been keeping in shape by playing in offseason leagues, as he is a frequent player in the Drew League.
He is doing this all in hopes that an NBA team will give him a call, offering tryout or spot in training camp.
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The fact that Davis is this close to returning is quite an accomplishment. Davis’ knee injury would have been enough to end the career of plenty of people, but he kept digging.
Prior to the knee injury, Davis was actually worried about having to undergo back surgery following the 2012 postseason.
Davis’ back was locking up on him during the postseason, a problem he dealt with throughout the whole 2011-12 season. The herniated disk he suffered the season before took 10 months of recovery, so Davis was hampered throughout his stint with the Knicks.
That is not how Davis wants his NBA career to end, which is why he is so vigorously pursuing a comeback. Davis was once one of the most electrifying and talented point guards in the NBA, making two All-Star teams.
He averaged 16.1 points, 7.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game in his career. His most memorable accomplishment was being the starting point guard on the Golden State Warriors team that went into the postseason as the eighth seed, yet upset the No.1 seed Dallas Mavericks.
Davis is now hoping to add another memorable moment to his 13-year career; making an improbable return to the NBA more than four years since he last stepped on an NBA court.
While he may not hold up for a full NBA season, it would be a triumphant just to make it back to that level.
While there are no teams currently interested in signing Davis, things could change once training camp gets underway. Davis is a grizzled veteran that could give a team an experienced mentor, or some minutes off the bench.
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He showed he had something left in the tank with his stint in the D-League last season; now he is just waiting for someone to give him a chance.