Former Toronto Raptors guard Norman Powell is an early Sixth Man of the Year candidate for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Due to the departure of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard being sidelined, Powell has truly taken a leap at 31-year-old. He has stepped up offensively to keep L.A. in the postseason mix.
The numbers that the veteran guard is putting up are impressive.
Powell is currently averaging 23.9 points on 50.5 percent shooting from the field and 50.7 percent from three-point range.
However, the former UCLA Bruins’ NBA career has not been glamorous. Powell said he nearly quit basketball multiple times in an interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype:
“I thought about quitting basketball a few times. People don’t really get to see that side of things. They hear about the work, your accolades, and your successes, but behind the scenes, the struggles and things that you go through on a daily basis, like dealing with depression and having doubts. I think a lot of people don’t know that I thought about quitting basketball a few times on this journey.”
The California native credits his uncle, Raymond Edwards, for giving him the inspiration not to quit:
“He got me started in basketball and really believed in me. I lost him when I was in high school. I made a promise to myself at his funeral when I went up there and spoke about him that anything I achieve and go after for basketball would be dedicated to him.”
Fortunately, Powell never did quit and ended up carving a nice NBA career to date.
Former Raptor Norman Powell believes Vince Carter deserves statue first
There have been a number of qualified Raptors players that deserve a statue in front of Scotiabank Arena.
When asked about who deserves a statue first, Norman Powell said Vince Carter.
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