Derek Fisher and the Lakers come out of the All-Star Break with 38 wins, good for third in the West and ready to make their annual playoff push.
No. 2’s been integral to the Lakers’ early season success, starting all 57 of LA’s games this year. His perfect percentage puts him on pace to start all 82 games for the fourth consecutive season.
But that isn’t the only impressive digit D-Fish has put up this year.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1 Collective Bargaining negotiation Derek is leading this year on behalf of the NBA players as President of the NBPA.
3.1 Seconds remaining on the clock on December 8th when Derek took an inbounds pass in the backcourt and drove the lane for a buzzer-beating layup to beat the Clippers 87-86.
6 Fish’s high in rebounds this year, which came against a win over the Wizards. That game No. 2 also notched seven assists and eight points.
8 Fish’s single-game high for assists this year, which came in a win over the New Orleans Hornets. No. 2’s notched seven assists two other times, and six assists three times, with all of those games being Laker wins.
11 Games in which Derek has been perfect from three-point land. The Lakers are 10-1 in those games.
19 No. 2’s season-high in points, posted in his most recent game, a loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers. No. 2 did it hitting 8-of-12 shots on the evening.
25 Games the point guard hasn’t had a turnover, posting perfect marks in nearly half of the Lakers games so far. By contrast, No. 2’s only been held without an assist four times this year.
35 The most minutes No. 2’s played in a game this season, which he did in a win over the Golden State Warriors.
40.4 Percent of three-pointers Derek’s hit this year, putting him on pace for this best shooting season from behind the arc since 2007-08.
47 Derek’s shooting percentage in the month of February, his best showing of any month so far this season.
80 Times No. 2 has swiped the opposition, good for a 1.4 steal per game average, his highest numbers since 2005-06.
470 Consecutive games played by D-Fish, who became the NBA’s iron man this season with the most regular season games played in-a-row with missing a day.
IN HIS OWN WORDS:
"There’s a lot of days, as an athlete, where you physically shouldn’t be out there. But you remember those days where your grandparents or your uncle had to catch a bus to get a ride to work. So you can’t use a sore back, or a sore neck or a sore ankle as an excuse to not go out there and lace ‘em up.
"There’s a lot of people in this country and around the world that make that decision every day. I take a lot of pride in it from that perspective. Not really about me personally or athletically what it means but, I watched my parents and my dad and my mom wake up every morning and go to work when they had to." – Derek Fisher on why it’s important for him to play every day.
THEY SAID IT:
"I have complete trust in Fish. He’s our veteran leader." – Lakers forward Matt Barnes.
"This guy that I’m about to introduce is known as "El Presidente." The President. He’s a leader on and off the court. He’s made numerous amounts of huge plays, big threes, and he’s just the man to me. The guy I’m introducing right now is Derek Fisher." – Lakers guard Shannon Brown introducing Derek during the Lakers Championship Ring Ceremony on opening night.
"He helps me if I’m on the court. We’re always communicating and trying to make each other better. He shows me how to get in the offense. He’s vocal in the locker room as far as how to make coverages and make the team better, which is pretty good to see." – New Lakers guard Steve Blake on how Fish has helped him adjust.
"That’s my man. Everybody knows our story. That’s my dude." – Kobe Bryant on D-Fish after No. 2 pulled off some more late game heroics against the Phoenix Suns.
"Big play Derek. The Yankees got Derek Jeter, we got Derek Fisher." – Lamar Odom of No. 2’s ability to step up when called upon.
"Any time you have someone in office or in power, it helps to know they care. And Fish fits the bill. I think that we’re lucky to have someone like Derek that truly cares about the league and its players." – Odom on why he feels comfortable with D-Fish leading the Players’ Association.
"He’s got a great business mind. Great family, good with his teammates, and he’s a leader. I mean who else would you want?" – Los Angeles Clippers forward Brian Cook.
"I’d vote for that guy to do just about anything — league president, charity president, country president," – an anonymous NBA All-Star to ESPN on D-Fish when asked which black professional athlete might be elected president in 2024.
"A lot of times on the plane I sit across the plane from him and he’s looking at stuff and reading agreements and proposals and I know it weighs heavily on him, the responsibility. And I noticed he goes to the other players and gets around to the other players on other teams. He looks like a good politician to me." – Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Derek’s role with the Players’ Association.
"Kobe and Derek have been there so many times now, they could lead tours themselves. The same is true for Coach Jackson." – President Barack Obama on the Lakers’ frequent trips to the White House as NBA Champions.
NEXT UP
The second half of the NBA season kicks off tonight when the Lakers take on the Atlanta Hawks.
It’s the first time this year the Lakers play Atlanta and the teams split the season series last year. The game tips off at 7:30 PST and can be seen on Fox West.