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The NBA's top towel-waver


Every NBA roster has that last dude on the bench. When you think about it, it's not that bad of a job. You get to practice basketball with the best players in the world, you get to travel with the team to various cities, you have one of the best seats in the house, and all without any media pressure and a pretty nice paycheck to boot.

Of course, it's unlikely that many NBA players see things this way. You don't make it to the NBA based on your humility, and the NBA has some of the largest egos in the sports world this side of the NFL.

This is exactly why Kent Bazemore is one of my favorite NBA players. Hailing from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, Bazemore is the backup, backup, backup point guard on the Golden State Warriors (in Oakland, CA), behind Steph Curry, Tony Douglas and Nemanja frikkin' Nedovic. The last time I saw him play was in garbage time with 7 seconds left on the clock, after all of the starters were pulled off the court to standing ovations after a 27-point comeback win against Toronto last Tuesday.

Despite his lowly rank on the Warriors, Bazemore is a big-time player on the bench, where he waves the most effective towel in the league. When Harrison Barnes dunks off a fast-break, there's Bazemore whipping his white towel and yelling like a madman. Ally-oop to Bogut, Bazemore holds the bench back. Hold 'em back, man! When Curry drains a step-back three, Bazemore jumps up, thrusts three fingers in the sky and yells support from the end of the bench. When the other team calls timeout after Klay Thompson sinks consecutive long-balls, Bazemore is the first out on the floor to chest-bump his team mates.

Let's hear it for the Kent Bazemores of the world!

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