DeAndre Bembry is not a normal rookie. His maturity and understanding for life and the game of basketball has him setting high expectations for 2016-17.
As a rookie in the NBA, hearing Commissioner Adam Silver announce your name during the draft is a dream come true.
After the limelight of draft night concludes, real life as a rookie begins. The grind of the off-season can sometimes be very overwhelming for the former collegiate stars, but this is the life they chose and hoped for since they were a little child.
For the majority of these draftees, they’ve always been the best player on their respective team throughout middle school, high school, and college. So for the players who aren’t a top two pick, they will likely have to make adjustments within their individual game to be the most effective player in their rookie campaign.
The confidence of being the best player on the floor doesn’t just disappear. It’s still inside each of them. DeAndre Bembry let that be known in a recent interview with Basketball Insiders’ Alex Kennedy.
Bembry was chosen with the No. 21 overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in this year’s NBA Draft. He is expected to be a player who can contribute immediately. Teams that passed up on him may regret doing so. At least that is a part of Bembry’s plan for year one.