Starting over
(Big Baby) Davis joins NBL’s St. John’s Edge
The St. John’s Edge jersey that Glen Davis held up for the cameras Thursday bore the number 0.
The former NBA star, nicknamed Big Baby, says it’s one indication he’s working on a fresh start in Newfoundland.
“That’s what it is, starting from scratch,” said Davis.
The 32-year-old centre, who won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008, was officially introduced to the St. John’s media Thursday, just about a week after The Telegram first reported he’d be joining the National Basketball League of Canada’s Edge. And even though he hasn’t played in a competitive five-on-five league in three years and will only have had one full practice with his new team, the six-foot-nine, 290-pound Davis was expected to be in St. John’s lineup Friday against the Island Storm in the first game of what will be a four-game homestand at Mile One Centre.
He’s by far the highest-profile player ever to come to the NBL Canada and as such, has made an impact before ever playing a minute. How soon Davis translates that impact onto the court remains to be seen.
“We’ll fit you in slowly here,” St. John’s head coach Doug Plumb said to Davis during Thursday’s news conference and the big man admitted job No. 1 will be to “get in the best shape possible.” This past summer, Davis played in the Big 3, a high-profile threeon-three league featuring mostly ex NBAers, winning a championship and earning playoff MVP honours. But that was really his first action since his NBA career ended with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2015. He had been set to play for a team in Croatia this season, but left that European nation without appearing in a game. Word from the Croatian team’s camp was Davis’s weight and attitude were involved. For his part, Davis has been quoted as saying he objected to the way the team was operated and with how the coach treated the players.
On Thursday, when asked what transpired, he wasn’t specific, starting out by describing himself as “a weird guy.”
“If I feel weird about something, I’m not just going to do it and the rhythm and vibes weren’t there,” he said. “Here I am now, where the vibes and rhythm are great and we’re going to dance.”