LAS VEGAS – Among the LA Clippers 15 players participating in the 2018 NBA Summer League, four of them have ice NBA regular season experience while the other 11 are rookies. Of the four who have played in the NBA, Sindarius Thornwell is far and away the guy everyone on this team looks up to as a veteran.
Given just under 1,200 minutes of playing time last year, Thornwell's time on the court, especially defensively, wasn't often wasted. Within the first month and a half of the season, he had already been tasked with defending Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James as well as Oklahoma City Thunder stars Paul George and Russell Westbrook. From Summer League to defending the league's best in a matter of 20 games over the course of several months to then being in the doghouse, Thornwell's debut season was the definition of a roller coaster. That's why he's helping the young guys on the team learn the ropes of the NBA so far.
“I feel like I'm a veteran leader, for sure,” said Thornwell. “I'm a year in, we've got a lot of rookies, a lot of young guys and I've been through the ropes, so its my job to help all the rookies throughout this week.”
Thornwell was selected with the 48th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and was praised by head coach Doc Rivers as well as President Lawrence Frank for his size, length, and potential to be a solid two-way player. Eleven games into the regular season, Thornwell was thrust into the starting lineup for the first time in his career to deal with the Thunder duo of Westbrook and George. He started the next four as well, one of which was against LeBron and the Cavs, while playing just over 29 minutes per contest.
Having gone through the journey of being drafted, taking on Vegas for Summer League, and trying to learn on the fly, Thornwell says it's easy for him to be a mentor to the younger guys.
“It's easy just because I've been through it,” added Thornwell. “I came into the same situation they came into. I felt the same way they felt coming into Summer League. I can understand how they feel and what they're going through. I've been around vets and in the NBA for a year so I can tell them the things that I've learned to help them out.”
Last season, Thornwell was drafted to a Clippers team with five other guards, who then later picked up another pair in two-way studs C.J. Williams and Tyrone Wallace. This season, as the roster currently stands, the Clippers have nine guards not including Wallace, who is a restricted free agent. Thornwell knows that minutes are going to be spotty at best for a second year guard, but he's only focusing on himself.
“I ain't worried about nothing,” said Thornwell when asked about his level of concern after LA drafted two more guards this summer. “I'm gonna come in, do my job, do everything I can to control want I can. In this game, you can't worry about anybody else. You can't come in and worry about what the next man's got going on or what the next man is doing. As long as you take care of your business and do everything you're supposed to do, thats all you can do.”
With the exception of about two separate trips to go back home to his family in South Carolina, Thornwell has been in the Clippers practice facility all summer long putting in work on the basketball court.
“I've been working on my body and shooting. Just shooting three's. I think thats the one thing that sort of kept me off the court sometimes,” Thornwell admitted. “There were probably times when we needed a stop, but they couldn't really put me out there because I was a liability on the offensive end. They probably didn't have the confidence in me that I could make the shot consistently. This summer, I'm trying to prove them wrong.”
In addition to the work on his three-point shooting, Thornwell also says he's been in the weight room every day as well, and there are already physical signs that he's a slimmer, better player than he was last season.
“You know whats crazy… I didn't even lose weight,” Thornwell told ClutchPoints after shootaround Sunday. “I'm still the same 215 lbs. My weight's the same, I just slimmed down and toned up. I just feel lighter to be able to last a whole season. To be relied on the whole season, your body's gotta be ready for the grind. I feel like I had to get my body in better shape to be able to withstand the whole season.”
The best part about Thornwell's mini-transformation is that no one told him that's what he needed to do. He knew immediately after the season was over that if he wanted to not only stay in the league, but become a key part of the Clippers rotation, he would need to get his body right.
“I did it myself. Guarding all LeBron [James], guarding Russ [Westbrook], guarding James [Harden], those guys are strong, so you've got to do everything you can to prepare yourself to be able to guard them guys.
“And I'm not done [yet]. I'm still working on it. I'm on a little break right now because I'm here (in Vegas), but I'll get back on it.”
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