The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten considerably younger and more gifted over the last eight months, and one of the young and skilled players they have brought in is forward Jarred Vanderbilt.
He arrived in February along with guard D’Angelo Russell in the Russell Westbrook trade, and he quickly emerged as an effective and versatile defender. With his help, the Lakers were one of the NBA’s very best defensive teams after the All-Star break, and that defensive excellence took them all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
Buy Lakers TicketsDuring an appearance on the “Run Your Race” podcast, Vanderbilt said he modeled his game after former Laker Lamar Odom, as well as Penny Hardaway, a standout guard for the Orlando Magic in the 1990s (h/t Lakers Nation).
“Nah for me, it was Penny, I grew up watching a lot of Penny and really like Lamar Odom. Those are the two guys that I was kind of modeling my game after, at that time. Big guards that can pretty much do anything with the rock, dribble, pass, shoot, like whatever. So, those were the two guys I was modeling my game after at that time.”
Odom was an indispensable part of L.A.’s back-to-back NBA championship teams in 2009 and 2010. He could handle the ball in the open court, penetrate and score at the rim, occasionally hit from the outside and grab rebounds in bunches.
Vanderbilt’s offensive game is still a work in progress, but he has occasionally flashed his ability to handle the ball on the fast break. His improvement as an outside shooter will be key to the Lakers’ title hopes this season, as well as his viability as a key player.
