The Toronto Raptors are hoping some advice from Tom Brady can inspire Malachi Flynn to take his game to the next level.
The Toronto Raptors are hoping Malachi Flynn can take a page out of the Tom Brady developmental playbook.
It’s been a rough first four seasons in the NBA for the 29th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Save for a brief impressive stint to end his rookie campaign, playing time and opportunities have been sparse for Flynn who hasn’t exactly proven he deserves more minutes when he has seen the court. He’s become a whipping boy, at times, for Toronto’s bench, the personification of the Raptors’ lackluster developmental track record since its championship season and the problem with the team’s guard depth. For the better part of the past three seasons, he’s been the only backup point guard on a team desperate for more guard talent.
But the Raptors aren’t ready to give up on Flynn who put together his best performance of the season earlier this week against Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks. The 6-foot-1 backup point guard popped off the bench for nearly 15 minutes, knocking down a pair of three-pointers, while providing effective defense against one of the league’s craftiest guards.
“Malachi’s been grinding. He’s been grinding a lot,” Chris Boucher told reporters Wednesday night. “You could see that for four years that he wasn’t just there, he was learning and getting better, and now that he’s on the floor it’s amazing to see the decisions that he’s making but also how good he’s getting on the floor.”
Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said he shared an article he read about Brady’s journey with Flynn earlier this season. Back in 1996, Brady was the third-string quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines and had complained to his coach Lloyd Carr that he wasn’t getting enough practice opportunities to improve and show the coaching staff he warranted a further look.
As Brady recalled, his coach told him to make the most of those limited opportunities. Even if it’s only two reps, make sure to make the most of them.
“I shared that article with Malachi. Like don’t think about like, am I playing five minutes, seven minutes, 10 minutes, make sure that everything counts when you go out there,” Rajaković said. “Go play defense, play the right way, set up your teammates, and then when you play in that rhythm without the pressure that you have to make shots, then shots come, and they fall down.”
For a player who came into the league with what was supposed to be a reliable three-point shot, Flynn’s shooting has been surprisingly inconsistent throughout his career. But Toronto isn’t so focused on Flynn’s ability to nail his three-pointers when he does check into the game, for the Raptors, Flynn’s development is about improving everything else he can do on the court.
Wednesday’s performance appeared to be a step in the right direction. Stringing those outings together is how Flynn can go from desperate guard depth to a key rotation player for a team still in search of someone reliable off the bench.
