When he heard the words “more playing time and more regular playing time,” Bamba couldn’t contain his excitement and a smile emerged.
Bamba’s NBA career has been filled with tough breaks. He missed the final 30 games of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs because of a stress fracture in his left tibia.
The effects of COVID lingered into this season and kept Bamba out of full contact work during much of the preseason. The condensed schedule and subsequent lack of practice time then limited his conditioning even more. Instead of catching up, Bamba fell further behind.