LOS ANGELES – The ice supply surrounding Desmond Bane’s locker was approaching igloo territory as he regrouped from another night of heavy lifting.
With each knee wrapped in bandaged ice and both feet submerged in buckets of frozen cubes, the Grizzlies’ guard was fitted with the postgame accessories of an emerging superstar.
The wardrobe was commensurate with the workload.
“I’m doing everything I can to stay healthy and fresh, both mentally and physically,” Bane shared as he recently leaned into his postgame recovery process. “I love the game of basketball. And when you love the game and have a great group like we have in this locker room, it’s easy to go out there night in and night out and give it your all.”
Bane is flat-out wrong about at least one thing: There’s nothing easy about what he’s doing this season. Many nights, he simply makes it look that way.
Nor, is anything coming particularly easy for the Grizzlies as they work their way back from a rough start to the season. But as one of the NBA’s most productive players, Bane personifies the fortitude that gives the Grizzlies a fighting chance to ultimately regain their footing this season.
After opening the schedule with six straight losses, the Grizzlies (2-8) have split their past four games entering Tuesday’s matchup with the Lakers to wrap up a two-game Los Angeles swing. And through those 10 games, Bane is off to the second-most prolific start in franchise history.
Coming off a game-high 27 points in Sunday’s 105-101 win over the Clippers, Bane has 265 points in the season’s first 10 games. That point total over that stretch falls behind only the 285 points that franchise catalyst Ja Morant scored through the first 10 games of last season.
Bane’s scoring average of 26.5 points a game was ranked 13th in the NBA entering the week. But the responsibilities he carries extends well beyond his scoring. In fact, Bane’s usage rate, which factors overall production based on minutes played per game, places him among the league’s elite superstars through the first month of the regular season.
While the Grizzlies have grappled with injuries that have sidelined as many as five rotation players on a given night, as well as the 25-game suspension Morant is serving to start the season, Bane has shouldered a larger load.
He’s responded to the initial challenge at an All-NBA level.
Entering the week, Bane ranked among the NBA’s top-15 in several categories on both sides of the ball. He’s third in total minutes played (354), third in field goals attempted (21.6), fourth in 3-pointers made (3.5), fourth in steals (1.6), 13th in scoring (26.5) and 14th in usage rate (30.8).
Bane embraces the opportunities and the bigger target from opposing teams that come with stepping into the role as the Grizzlies’ primary option. The mission is to keep his team afloat and provide whatever is needed each time he takes the court.
“He’s seeing different coverages every night, and each time he’s accepting the challenge to do whatever’s required to put our team in the best possible position to compete and win,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said of Bane. “Obviously, we’re leaning on him a lot for offense right now, scoring and playmaking. But he and I talked about how he wants to be challenged defensively and to strike that right balance with usage. The guy is one of the best workers I’ve ever seen.”
The grueling and meticulous work that went on behind closed doors during the summer is now manifesting on the NBA’s global stage. But Bane’s goal is to simply sustain his remarkable start. This time last season, Bane produced at a similar breakout level and was trending toward early All-Star consideration before a toe injury stalled his progress.
It was exactly a year ago this week when Bane first suffered the injury during a Nov. 11 game against Minnesota and would miss the next 17 games. He returned to produce a career season, averaging 21.5 points, five rebounds and 4.4 assists over 58 games.
Offseason surgery followed in May, but Bane had shown enough through his first three years in the league to garner a franchise-record $204 million contract extension last summer. The move solidifies Bane, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2020 draft, alongside All-Stars in Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. as cornerstones in the franchise’s pursuit of a championship.
An ultimate sign of both respect and just how much Bane has improved was shown last week, when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra devised a scheme to contain the Grizzlies’ top threat. All-NBA swingman Jimmy Butler sacrificed shots and shifted his focus to exclusively defend Bane.
“All of these things are easier said than done,” Spoelstra said after Bane was limited to matching his season-low of 15 points and four made shots in Miami’s 108-104 win. “We knew coming into the game that Bane is a guy who can really break free. If he hits four or five 3-pointers in the first half, it’s really downhill for him. If he gets into a rhythm early, you’re dealing with a lot.”
Both Bane and Jackson are off to the best starts of their careers this season, although victories have been hard to come by so far. Four of the Grizzlies’ eight losses were by six or fewer points, but there are encouraging signs that a turnaround could be looming.
There has been a boost to the depth at point guard and center. Developmental G League prospect Jacob Gilyard has started the past two games and averaged 10 points and 5.5 assists while shooting 40-percent on 3-pointers. And in the post, recent free-agent pickup Bismack Biyombo is adding 11.2 points and 11.8 rebounds through four starts since joining the team.
The bench is also gaining rhythm, with Luke Kennard scoring double figures in four straight games while shooting 15-for-26 (57.5-percent) on 3-pointers. Reserve forwards Santi Aldama and Ziaire Williams are back from recent injuries to add depth, and backup center Xavier Tillman also appears close to returning after sitting out with knee soreness the past four games.
“We’ve kept the faith the whole time, because we know we have players capable of doing a bunch of different things,” Bane said of the team’s collective confidence. “We’re still down some bodies. But we just keep battling and keep focusing on getting better. And we’re going to keep doing that regardless of the results.”
Jenkins is mindful of the workload Bane must carry at this stage of the season. It’s why rest and recovery are as much of a priority between games as points and playmaking are during them.
After facing the Lakers on Tuesday, the Grizzlies will have a three-break before traveling for a home-road set Saturday in San Antonio against the Spurs and Sunday at home against Boston.
Jenkins has seen Bane work himself into prime condition to take on the tasks at hand.
“He made sure he was as strong as possible, as conditioned as possible to hit the ground running, and he hasn’t skipped a beat since camp,” Jenkins said of Bane. “It’s also his ownership of the responsibility he has to make an impact for our group. It’s offense, defense, leadership, everything. This guy is the epitome of what it means to work hard and seeing it pay off.”
Now, it’s about seeing it result in victories.
“I feel like my body is in a really good spot,” Bane said of his mental and physical approach. “My role is different, but everybody is being asked to do more. I definitely feel I’m doing more out there, and it’s helping me become a better player. At times, it hasn’t been pretty. I’m learning through it all and continuing to grow. Hopefully, we can now string together some wins.”
Bane is working relentlessly toward that outcome.
Just keep the postgame icepacks handy for one of the early NBA season’s hottest players.