Tag: Chaundee Brown Jr.

NBA hardship contracts: Top performances by 10-day signees

Rookie Wire took a look at the top performances by players on 10-day hardship contracts.

The month of December proved to be a rather difficult time for teams and players alike in the NBA after dealing with the latest outbreak of the coronavirus.

Over 200 players entered the health and safety protocol in December and 11 games were postponed as a result of the outbreak. Teams have called up nearly 100 players from the NBA G League to replace those in the protocol, creating opportunities for under-the-radar guys.

With several roster players sidelined in the protocol, teams relied on those call-ups to field teams and avoid further postponements. Several players signed via hardship exception took advantage of the opportunity and made a name for themselves.

The performances by those players will go a long way in securing long-term contracts in the NBA. The latest obstacle surrounding the coronavirus certainly proved to be difficult but one uplifting consequence is seeing several players realizing the opportunity of a lifetime.

With most teams through the worst of the latest coronavirus outbreak, Rookie Wire took a look at some of the top performances by players signed via hardship contracts. We will continue to update this list with each notable outing.

Note: List current through games played on Jan. 4

Lakers’ Chaundee Brown Jr. ironically blew out a Zion 1 shoe on the court

Brown blew out a pair of Zion Williamson’s signature shoes during the middle of the game on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Chaundee Brown Jr. put so much effort in on a defensive possession versus the New York Knicks that he literally came out of his shoe.

With just under four minutes remaining in the second quarter, Brown picked up Knicks forward Obi Toppin at halfcourt. After pestering Toppin for a few moments, Brown made a hard plant on his left foot and came out of his shoe.

Brown continued to play defense with a broken shoe, and the play eventually stopped after he was whistled for a foul on Toppin. He was seen afterward walking off the court to get a new pair of shoes since they were destroyed.

The ironic part of the scene was Brown was wearing a Zion 1, the signature shoe of Zion Williamson by Jordan Brand. Williamson blew out a Nike shoe during his lone season at Duke in a nationally-televised game against North Carolina.

Williamson was dribbling the ball when he attempted to plant his left foot and make a cut, but his Nike shoe buckled under the pressure and ripped apart. He checked out after that play in the first quarter and eventually missed five games with a knee injury.

Fortunately, Brown avoided injury on the play and returned after getting a new pair of shoes. There was just something too ironic about watching a pair of Williamson’s shoes rip apart on the court, though.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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