Rochester, New York native Thomas Bryant was selected in the 2nd round number 12 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. The draft rights were acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers, along with the draft rights to Josh Hart, from the Utah Jazz in exchange for the draft rights to Tony Bradley. Most of his rookie year he spent playing for the G- League South Bay Lakers appear in 15 games for the Lakers on June 30th, 2018 The Los Angeles Lakers placed the contract of Thomas Bryant on the waiver.
Very quickly the Washington Wizards made a successful waiver claim for the contract of Thomas Bryant just a couple of days later. Where he played center over the next 4 years. He played a total of 155 games and averaged 22 MPG, and 11.3 PPG on 59.1 FG Shooting while pulling down 5.9 rebounds.
Picked up in the 2022 NBA free agency by the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant signed a 1 year 2.1 million dollar deal. The team started on a very rocky 2-10 start. Just before losing Anthony Davis, who was arguably the league MVP at the time he suffered a foot injury on Dec. 16th, 2022 against the Denver Nuggets.
Thomas Bryant the small-town kid number was called on and boy was he ready! Most recently, he has become only the 2nd Laker in history since Shaq to put up 29 points, and 14 rebounds in 12-14 shooting with an 85% FG. Since losing their superstar center the Lakers have managed to fly above .500 with an (8-5) record, meanwhile, they’re on a 5-game winning streak and Bryant has critically impacted the game. During this streak, he is playing like a 20 million-dollar big man averaging 21.2 PPG and hauling in 13.6 RPG. The Lakers look to push their streak to 6 games as they’re set to face the Denver Nuggets next.