Charles Bassey has yet to play more than half of an NBA season over the course of his three seasons in the league.
Whether it was with the Philadelphia 76ers — where he signed a rookie deal after being drafted with the No. 52 pick of the second round of the NBA Draft — or with the San Antonio Spurs, where he's played a combined 54 games over two seasons for the main roster, he's seldom seen game action.
That's largely been due to injuries. In his first season with the San Antonio, the then-second-year center split time with the Austin Spurs, where he impressed the franchise enough to have his two-way deal converted to a four-year, $10.2 million agreement that would let him work his way up.
Not long after he signed it, however, he suffered a fractured left patellar tendon to end his season about a month short. Obviously, that wasn't the goal.
So, he dedicated time to getting healthy in the offseason.
"I've been working all summer on my body," Bassey said prior to the reguar season in what was set to be his second year in San Antonio. "I'm feeling great. I'm in shape. I'm conditioned, so I'm feeling good."
Again, that didn't last long. In December, the news broke that Bassey would be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. It marked the second straight year he'd have to call it early.
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"Prayers up for C. Bass," Spurs guard Devin Vassell said of Bassey's injury. "We've all got our arms around him, trying to help him out. ... It's tough for him [and] for us."
Vassell spoke for the team, but Zach Collins only echoed what his teammate stated.
"He's battled, man," Collins said. "He's been through a lot. He had a great year last year and that got cut short. He was playing great this year, and then again that happened."
Bassey has yet to truly show what he's capable of for the young Spurs, but with still two more seasons on his contract, he's got time to prove it.
And if this offseason is anything like last, he'll spend it working even harder on his body to ensure he can.
Grade: N/A
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