Warriors Rookie Jordan Bell Adjusting To Life In The NBA
(KPIX) -- Warriors rookie Jordan Bell admits one of the biggest adjustments transitioning from college to professional basketball is figuring out what to do with all the extra time.
"You have some 3 o'clock til the end of the day to do whatever," Bell told KPIX sports director Dennis O'Donnell on Gameday. "You have to try to find something to occupy your time."
Off the court Bell is learning how to play the piano, on the court he's getting a crash course in NBA basketball from some of the best athletes in the league.
Bell was drafted 38th overall by the Chicago Bulls before he was traded to Golden State. He played three season at Oregon and won the 2016-17 Pac-12 defensive player of the year award with the Ducks.
Now he teams up with the NBA's defensive player of the year, Draymond Green.
"Last game we played Philadelphia, and he told me he watched an hour of film on Ben Simmons," Bell said about his teammate's preparation. "That's crazy, I've never done anything like that before."
Bell gets roughly nine minutes per game, most of it when the Warriors have a comfortable lead.
During garbage time in Dallas earlier in the season, Bell took some heat when he threw a pass to himself off the backboard for a dunk when the Warriors had a 25 point lead.
"I wasn't trying to be disrespectful to the Mavericks," he said of the perception that he was showboating. "I was just having fun."