Back in December, after a particular tough loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Washington Wizards players had an impromptu meeting in the locker room. One player who spoke up was backup center Marvin Bagley III. He averaged 16 minutes a game at the time, but felt he had something important to share, especially to the youngest players on the team.
It was a piece of advice he wished someone would have given him at the start of his NBA career, as reported by WashingtonWizards.com.
“He talked a lot to us about
his past, what he’s seen in the NBA,” Bilal Coulibaly said about the locker room speech. “He really talked to the guys and told the guys don’t get used to losing.”
Don’t get used to losing.
Marvin Bagley III, 26, was the second overall pick in 2018, picked right in front of Luka Doncic by the Sacramento Kings. Interesting to think of now, and also a reason why his thoughts and reflections on the journey he’s had since 2018 are worth paying attention to. Both for his teammates, but also to get an idea of where he is mentally as he joins the Dallas Mavericks in a rebuilding phase around Cooper Flagg.
One of the pitfalls of tanking, rebuilding or starting over can be that especially young players develop bad habits. They start playing the wrong way, chasing stats and highlights. This can be detrimental to their future careers as well as when the time comes to actually play to win.
That’s why the fact that Bagley wanted to convey this exact message to his younger teammates a couple of months ago seems important, as he joins the Dallas Mavericks at this specific point in time.
Don’t get used to losing.
Bagley was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2018, but his career didn’t get off to the start he had hoped for. After an All-Rookie campaign, Bagley struggled with injuries and inconsistent play and was traded midway through his fourth season.
“I was in a tough spot as a young player; 18 years old coming in [and] I didn’t really have the older vets to guide me,” Bagley said.
“It kind of felt like I had to figure things out on the run, on the fly, by myself. That’s a hard spot to be in, especially in this league.”
Bagley has talked about dealing with the reality of unfulfilled potential. After being the guy in Sacramento to start with, he has dealt with being in and out of rotations, injuries, trades and disappointments.
But it looks like he may have found peace and balance in Washington recently, which bodes well for Dallas. He’s characterized as “mild-mannered, humble and un-assuming, yet vocal when he chooses to be. Universally liked and respected.”
“I’m a huge fan of Marvin, a huge fan of his game. He had a lot of things that didn’t break his way at the beginning of his career, whether they were his fault or somebody else’s and out of his control,” Corey Kispert said in the same article.
And it’s becoming clear that one of Bagley’s biggest strengths at this point in his career is his mental approach and how he now uses his experience to lead and mentor.
“The way he carries himself just being where he was and where he is now is incredible… He could easily just hang his hat and sulk because of where he was and where he was picked. But he’s the first person to tell you he is what he is now and he wants to make the best of it. He’s continuing to create himself a really nice career simply because of his mentality,” Kispert said.
It’s about focusing on controlling what you can control, Bagley says. About accomplishing whatever you can moving forward, and about how it begins with belief in himself.
You’d almost think he knew that a big change was coming getting a chance at least with the hard working, mentally strong group in Dallas, who have a real future franchise star to build around in Cooper Flagg and a one of a kind veteran leader in Kyrie Irving. This is what Bagley said a couple of months ago:
“The work is paying off, man… I’ve got a lot in the tank, man. I’m far from done, I’m not done. I’ve got a lot left to give to a team, to this league.”
And maybe Dallas is exactly what Bagley needs in order to take the next step in his career. There is already some signs that Marvin Bagley III may be just what Dallas needs in the locker room, as they rebuild around Flagg, but also on the court. If his debut Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs was any indication, this could end up as a great situation and fit for him. He recorded an impressive 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, a steal and four blocks in just 24 minutes.
