Atlanta Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore, a free agent this summer after four seasons in the NBA, tells his story.

You’re probably wondering why I am writing this. Well, with the NBA draft over, there’s no better time to recount my journey to the league and to provide some motivation for those prospects who didn’t hear their names called Thursday night. Basically, being undrafted doesn’t mean the dream is over.

I had problems early in the 2012 predraft season. I played badly at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. I was so embarrassed at my efforts and the lack of interest from NBA teams that it really dimmed my hopes and dreams of playing in the NBA. I was given nine more chances to redeem myself at workouts with certain teams. I went into these workouts with the mindset that I wanted to show teams that I could be a lockdown defender and display my elite athleticism. I felt pretty good about myself in six out of the nine workouts. On draft day, I did not get my name called.

Kent Bazemore started his NBA career with the Warriors. (AP) More

I signed a $90,000 contract in the Ukraine with an NBA opt-out. After missing the Orlando summer league, I went to the Las Vegas summer league with the Golden State Warriors. I agreed to a partially guaranteed deal with the Warriors because my agent, Austin Walton, and I felt I had a great chance to make the roster. My rookie year, I played behind Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Jarrett Jack, Brandon Rush, and Richard Jefferson. There were absolutely zero minutes available.

What did I do? I came to the gym early and stayed late, and with the help of the video coordinators – they should be your best friends forever and always – I worked to improve. I would share the court with the cheerleaders pregame and work out hours before the game whether I was expecting to get minutes in a blowout or not. I never saved an ounce of energy. This is energy I was born with, and I dispersed positive vibes to everyone in my locker room. They called it “Bazemoring.” I called it doing whatever I had to do to stick.

I was sent down to the NBA Development League, but I never looked at it as a demotion. I loved watching Steph tear it up, but I had a chance to go to Santa Cruz and play the game. I used the D-League to sharpen my skills, iron out the kinks and stay ready.

The summer before I entered my second year in 2013, Draymond Green and I were named captains of the Warriors’ summer-league team. It was the first year summer-league champions were going to be crowned. We went undefeated and beat a Suns team that had six or seven NBA guys to win the title. I was determined to show that I knew how to win, no matter the stage.

At the trade deadline I was moved to the L.A. Lakers. I am not going to lie: leaving Golden State was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. However, I knew that I would have an opportunity to showcase my skills. From the moment I signed with Golden State my mindset was to excel at the role I had while relentlessly working toward the role I wanted. Then-Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni allowed me to do just that. I went from averaging 6.1 minutes per game to playing 28 per game. But with five games remaining in the season I tore a tendon in my right ankle.

The Lakers did not pick up my qualifying offer for $1.2 million, so I became an unrestricted free agent.

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