The Golden State Warriors bought their way into the 2017 NBA Draft when they traded for the 38th overall pick and drafted Jordan Bell. The 6’8 shot blocker is an intriguing prospect for the Warriors, which could use some more help defending the rim, especially if JaVale McGee leaves town in free agency.
Bell spoke to The Mercury News‘ Anthony Slater about how he picked playing basketball and jumpstarting his career at Oregon over playing football. He also offered up a unique anecdote about how he became such a prolific shot blocker. Turns out it has nothing to do with actually playing basketball.
Bell averaged double-digit rebounds all three years at Oregon and blocked 233 shots in 105 games, something the 6-foot-8 center credits to timing.
Where does that timing come from? Not football. Not basketball. Guitar Hero, Bell says.
“You ever played?” Bell said. “You got to like try to get it exactly. I hate video games, but that’s the one video game I played every single day. Strumming, hit the button at the same exact time, catch it on the screen. Shot-blocking, to me, is all about timing. I know tall people who can’t block a shot to save their life. That right there really helped to get my timing.”
Video games are great for a lot of things like this, so it’s no surprise players who grew up with games like Guitar Hero say they helped their timing and hand-eye coordination. See? Video games do a lot more than rot your brain and desensitize you to violence.
Draymond Green was furious that he didn’t hear from Warriors general manager Bob Myers before the team drafted Bell, but now that all that’s settled he’s excited about adding Bell to the franchise, even if he plays a game similar to his.
“Great pick,” Draymond said. “I do. I see a lot of (similarities). Number 1, it’s just that passion he brings to the court. He’s all over the floor making plays. I definitely see some of that in him. The way he plays, you can tell there’s no shortage of work ethic.”
Green said that Bell has “tools that can take him far” as long as he puts in the work, which starts at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas this weekend.
