Zach LaVine: A Chicago Star

Republished By Plato

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Over the course of his six seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Zach LaVine has been amazing.

As shown by Basketball Reference, LaVine averaged 24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists on 47.2% from the field, 38.6% from 3-point range, and 83.6% from the line.

Judging by those stats alone, one could assume that LaVine has been a star since he entered Chicago.

However, LaVine’s story was much more complex than that.

LaVine’s Timberwolves’ Years

LaVine was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014, where he showed flashes of becoming a star.

With the 2014-15 Timberwolves, he showed potential averaging 10.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists on 42.2% from the field, 34.1% from 3-point range, and 84.2% from the line. On top of that, LaVine displayed athleticism that, at times, seemed inhumane.

Of course, those stats don’t jump out in the box score, but he was a rookie.

They showed that he belonged in the league and that, likely, he’ll improve as his career continues.

The next season, LaVine improved slightly.

With the 2015-16 Timberwolves, he averaged 14.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists on 45.2% from the field, 38.9% from 3-point range, and 79.3% from the line. These stats showed that his percentages from the field improved but still had a few noticeable flaws in his game.

But he continued to progress, leading to more improvements in the 2016-17 season.

Within that season, LaVine averaged 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists on 45.9% from the field, 38.7% from 3-point range, and 83.6% from the line. With this performance, he addressed a few issues from last season.

His scoring was better, his field goal and 3-point percentages remained consistent, and his free-throw percentage was back at around 83%-84%. He even kept his athleticism.

However, that would all change towards the end of the season.

The Injury

On Feb. 3, 2017, LaVine suffered a dreadful injury that derailed so many basketball players’ careers and ACL tear.

The craziest part about the injury was that he continued to play after, as shown in the video link below:

https://www.facebook.com/TheOpenCourt/videos/lavine-plays-with-torn-acl-/644147462759903/

This worried many fans and analysts because this injury has shown to end careers or significantly alter careers. Especially since he played with the injury, many were wondering how long his recovery process would be.

That process would be a long one but not in the way many intended.

While recovering from that injury in the 2017 offseason, on June 22, 2017, the Timberwolves traded LaVine to the Bulls.

The trade details were as follows:

-The Bulls received Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine, and the 7^th pick of the 2017 draft (Lauri Markkanen)

-Minnesota received Jimmy Butler and the 16^th pick of the 2017 draft (Justin Patton)

Therefore, just like that, LaVine was a Chicago Bull.

A Burand New Start

As many expected, LaVine had to be sidelined for most the 2017-18 season and averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists on 38.3% from the field, 34.1% from 3-point range, and 81.3% from the line. He even did crazy dunks every now and then.

These stats demonstrated that he still had flashes of what he showed last season but couldn’t do it efficiently.

Throughout this season, fans and analysts were puzzled.

Some felt that his efficiency dropped due to his injury and that he’d blossom to a fine NBA player after. Others felt that he, wouldn’t recover from his injury at all.

By the time the next season rolled around, the pressure was on.

The Turning Point

Within the 2018-19 season, LaVine averaged 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 46.7% from the field, 37.4% from 3-point range, and 83.2% from the line.

These stats surprised nearly everyone that followed LaVine’s career. Many saw him as “Just a dunker” that would be okay at other basketball skills.

This season terminated that assumption.

He showed that he was a good scorer, efficient, and even could get flashy when he wanted to. These performances didn’t lead to wins, but it showed promise for the future.

As the seasons went LaVine’s all-star production continued averaging the following:

-25.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 45.0% from the field, 38% from 3-point range, 80.2% from the line in the 2019-2020 season

-27.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 50.7% from the field, 41.9% from 3-point range, 84.9% from the line in the 2020-21 season

-24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 47.6% from the field, 38.9% from 3-point range, 85.3% from the line in the 2021-22 season

-24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 48.5% from the field, 37.5% from 3-point range, and 84.8% from the line in the 2022-23 season

As shown, LaVine has averaged above 20 points on at least 45% from the field since the first season doing so, which is an amazing feat.

LaVine’s numbers haven’t led to any significant playoff success quite yet, but, if he continues this type of production, sooner or later it will.

Stay tuned for more NBA content, including midseason moves, contract updates, and more pieces about every team.

Featured image courtesy of spin.ph

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