Los Angeles Lakers (2005–2012) Rookie season In the 2005 NBA draft, Bynum was selected 10th overall by the
Los Angeles Lakers. At age , Bynum was 12 days younger than
Jermaine O'Neal, the previous youngest player drafted by an NBA team. After selecting him in the draft, the Lakers hired
Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to work with Bynum. Bynum played in a preseason game at 17 years old making him the first player to play in the NBA at 17 years of age. On November 2, 2005, during the Lakers' season opener against the
Denver Nuggets, Bynum played six minutes and became the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game at age . During the game, he missed his two field goal attempts but had two rebounds and two blocks. In
his second season, Bynum was still the youngest player in the league, due to his draft year being the last that a player could be drafted straight out of high school. In a game against the
Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, Bynum matched up against former Laker center
Shaquille O'Neal for the first time. At one point, O'Neal dunked over Bynum on a putback attempt. On the next play, Bynum spun past O'Neal and dunked the ball. He then ran down the court and shoved O'Neal with his elbow, who retaliated by elbowing Bynum's upper chest. Teammate
Kobe Bryant quickly stepped in between the two. Both Bynum and O'Neal received
technical fouls for the incident.
2006–07 season With Lakers centers
Chris Mihm and
Kwame Brown injured at the start of
2006–07, Bynum was the starting center for the first 15 games of the season. In his first career start, he scored 18 points and had nine rebounds against the
Phoenix Suns on October 31, 2006. His first career
double-double on November 7 included a season-high 20 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks against the
Minnesota Timberwolves. On January 26, 2007, he had a career-high seven blocks and a season-high 16 rebounds against the
Charlotte Bobcats. He played in all 82 games during the season and started 53, finishing with averages of 7.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in just over 21 minutes per game. During the season, the
New Jersey Nets were interested in acquiring Bynum for
Jason Kidd. After the season, Coach
Pete Newell was impressed with Bynum's development, and stated that teammate Kobe Bryant should back off on his negative treatment of Bynum on the court. Bryant was also shown on an infamous amateur video saying that center Bynum should have been traded for Kidd. The
Indiana Pacers also made a trade offer for Bynum. The Lakers would exercise a fourth-year contract option on Bynum.
2007–08 season Bynum helped the Lakers start to a 26–11 record, which was at the time the best record in the Pacific Division. Bynum played 35 games and started in 25 games during the season. On
Christmas Day against the
Phoenix Suns, he made 11-of-13 shots for 28 points to complement 12 boards, 4
assists and 2 blocks. On January 13, 2008, he suffered an injury during a game against the
Memphis Grizzlies. Bynum partially dislocated his left kneecap when he landed awkwardly on teammate
Lamar Odom's left foot while attempting to grab a rebound. After Bynum's injury, the Lakers acquired
Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. In March, there were reports that he could return before the end of the
2007–08 season or the first round of the playoffs; however, Lakers coach
Phil Jackson said that he did not foresee Bynum making serious contributions any time soon in April. In May, rumors about his return were put to rest when Bynum underwent
arthroscopic surgery on his kneecap. He missed 46 games due to the injury, On October 30, 2008, he agreed to sign a 4-year, $58 million contract with the Lakers. Bynum set a new career high in scoring with 42 points to go along with 15 rebounds (8 offensive) and 3 blocked shots on January 21, 2009, against the
Los Angeles Clippers. On the next night, January 22, versus the
Washington Wizards he scored 23 points to go along with 14 rebounds. On January 27, 2009, in a double overtime loss against the
Charlotte Bobcats, Bynum committed a flagrant foul, fracturing the rib and subsequently collapsing the lung of
Gerald Wallace of the Bobcats. While playing against the
Memphis Grizzlies on January 31, 2009,
Kobe Bryant had an off balanced shot, fell and collided with Bynum's right knee, resulting in a right knee sprain. On February 2, 2009, it was revealed that Bynum had suffered a torn MCL in his right knee and would be out 8–12 weeks. This was the second straight year that Bynum had suffered a knee injury against the Grizzlies. He had averaged 26
points and 14
rebounds in his previous five games, posting five straight
double-doubles. Bynum missed the next 32 games. On April 9, 2009, he returned from injury in a home game against the
Denver Nuggets. Bynum went 0–2 in the first half, but finished with 7–11 by the end of the game. With the 21 minutes that Bynum played, he scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Still recovering from his knee injury, he played in the playoffs wearing an awkward knee brace. He was not the same player, averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds while often in foul trouble. The Lakers advanced to the
2009 NBA Finals against the
Orlando Magic. Although Bynum averaged just 19 minutes against the Magic and their center
Dwight Howard, the Lakers won the championship. It was the third consecutive season his knee injuries impacted the Lakers postseason. Postponing surgery until after the playoffs, Bynum appeared in all 23 of the Lakers' playoff games, averaging 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds. Teammate
Pau Gasol called Bynum's "tenacity remarkable. He gave his best. He sacrificed himself in order to help the team and have a better chance to win the championship." Before having surgery on his knee, Bynum attended the
2010 World Cup in South Africa and vacationed in Europe. "It's not the most serious (injury)", Bynum said of his torn meniscus. "I'm going to get it taken care of, and then everything is supposed to be cool." Kevin Ding of the
Orange County Register and Michael Rosenberg of
Sports Illustrated criticized Bynum for his summer activities and not expecting complications based on his history with injuries and recovery time. Bynum came off the bench in his first game of the season on December 14 in a 103–89 win over the Wizards. He finished with 17 minutes, 1-of-5 from the field, seven points, four rebounds and two blocks. "I feel light-years better than back [in game 7 of 2010 NBA Finals]", he said. In his first 24 games played during the season, Bynum averaged 24.6 minutes per game and 27.4 minutes in 17 games as a starter. Jackson was limiting Bynum's minutes in an attempt to minimize his risk of injury. At the All-Star break, Jackson discussed with Bynum that his primary role should be to defend and rebound—not score. It was a role Bynum had previously resisted. On March 8, Bynum had his third straight game with at least 16 rebounds and had 50 rebounds and 12 blocks in that span. As the Lakers went 8–0 after the All-Star break, Bynum had 10 or more rebounds five times and blocked three or more shots four times while the Lakers held opponents to just 87 points per game. The Lakers revised their defense to have big men no longer be responsible for the perimeter, defending guards coming off screens, and instead have Lakers' defenders funnel the players inside to Bynum. On March 14, Bynum tied his career high in rebounds with 18 against Howard and the Magic. On March 20, Bynum was suspended for two games by the NBA for a flagrant foul on
Michael Beasley of the
Minnesota Timberwolves. On April 5, in a loss to the
Utah Jazz, he grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds. On April 12 against the
San Antonio Spurs, Bynum hyper-extended his right knee A
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam revealed he had a bruised knee, and he missed the last game of the regular season. Bynum ended the season averaging 11 points, 12 rebounds and 2.4 blocks after the All-Star break. After the Lakers defeated the
New Orleans Hornets in the first round, 4–2, Hornets head coach
Monty Williams said, "Kobe's Kobe, but I thought Bynum decided the series. He was that good." In the Lakers' second-round playoff series against the
Dallas Mavericks, Bynum was ejected in the final game of the Mavericks' four-game sweep for a
flagrant foul on
J. J. Barea moments after teammate
Lamar Odom was ejected for fouling
Dirk Nowitzki. Bynum's actions were condemned by the sports news media, and he was suspended four games for the next season and fined $25,000.
2011–12 season . Jackson retired from coaching after
2010–11, and he was then replaced by
Mike Brown. During Brown's interview for the position, Lakers executive
Jim Buss said Bynum needed to receive the ball inside, and Brown planned for Bynum to get the ball "more than what he did in the past." The new coach believed Bynum could become an
All-Star, and perennial All-Star center
Yao Ming had retired and
Tim Duncan's skills were declining. In his first game of the season after serving his suspension, Bynum scored 29 points on 13 for 18 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading the Lakers to a 92–89 victory over the
Denver Nuggets. On January 3 against the
Houston Rockets, Bynum had 21 points and 22 rebounds in the first 20–20 game of his career. He was selected as a starter to his first
All-Star Game. Bynum was awarded Western Conference Player of the Week honors for the second time of his young career for games played Monday, March 12, through Sunday, March 18. He led the Lakers to a 3–1 week, leading the West in rebounding (14.8 rpg) and placed second in scoring (27.5) while shooting .665 from the field (fourth in the Conference). On March 28 against the
Golden State Warriors, Bynum was benched by coach Mike Brown for the remainder of the third quarter after attempting an ill-advised
three-point field goal with 10:05 left and the Lakers leading 56–50. Bynum did not join his teammates in huddles during multiple timeouts in the fourth quarter, instead sitting by himself toward the end of the bench. He was fined by the team around $7,500 for his actions. About a week later, he was again not involved in timeouts against an undermanned
New Orleans Hornets team, explaining afterwards that he was resting and "getting my Zen on." Bynum finished the regular season with career highs in minutes per game (tied NBA 24th overall), rebounds per game (NBA 3rd overall), and points per game (NBA 20th overall). He also finished with the third-highest field-goal percentage in the league and 6th overall in blocks per game. Bynum ended the season tied with Oklahoma City All-Star guard
Russell Westbrook at 10th overall in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) with a PER of 23.00. Bynum only missed one game the entire season due to injury (ankle). He became widely mentioned along with Howard as being the top center playing in the NBA. In a 103–88 win against the Nuggets in the opening game of the playoffs, Bynum had a
triple-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 blocked shots. The blocked shots broke
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's franchise record of nine, and tied the NBA playoff record set by
Mark Eaton and
Hakeem Olajuwon. After the Lakers led the series 3–1, Bynum said, "Close-out games are actually kind of easy." The Lakers eventually won the series 4–3 with Bynum contributing a career playoff-high 18 rebounds in game 7.
Trade to Philadelphia 76ers (2012–2013) and injuries On June 4, 2012, the Lakers exercised their $16.1 million team option on Bynum's contract for the
2012–13 season. On August 10, he was traded to the
Philadelphia 76ers in a four-team deal that also sent
Dwight Howard from the Magic to the Lakers and
Andre Iguodala from the 76ers to the
Denver Nuggets. The Magic decided against receiving Bynum due to concerns over his knees and his upcoming
free agent status. About a week before training camp, Bynum underwent
Orthokine treatments on both of his knees to stimulate healing for his arthritis. As a precaution at the start of camp, the 76ers decided to hold Bynum out from basketball activities for three weeks after he experienced discomfort in his knees. He was also diagnosed with a bone bruise to his right knee that was unrelated to the treatments he received. He did not practice or play with the team prior to the season, and suffered another setback after injuring his left knee while
bowling. In November, Sixers general manager
Tony DiLeo said Bynum's knees had worsened since the trade, and Bynum was declared out indefinitely. Since training camp, Bynum had been firm that he would make his debut for Philadelphia, and had targeted the
All-Star break for his return. After still not playing through the end of February, it was reported that Bynum's knees had begun to degenerate. On March 1, with swelling in his right knee, he conceded he might not play by the end of the season, although he said his left knee was fine.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2013–2014) of the
Washington Wizards On July 19, 2013, Bynum signed with the
Cleveland Cavaliers. Reportedly, the incentive-laden contract could pay him up to $24.79 million over two years. On October 30, 2013, he made his debut for the Cavaliers recording 3 points and 3 rebounds in 8 minutes of play. On November 30, Bynum set season highs of 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a 97–93 victory over the
Chicago Bulls. However, he also struggled at times, shooting 0–11 from the field with no points in 22 minutes in a loss to
Detroit. On December 28, Bynum was suspended indefinitely by the Cavaliers for conduct detrimental to the team; he had been thrown out of practice after shooting the ball every time he received it, regardless of how far he was from the basket. On January 7, 2014, the Cavaliers traded Bynum, a future first-round draft pick, two future second-round picks, and the option to swap first-round picks in
2015 to the
Chicago Bulls for
Luol Deng. Coach
Frank Vogel planned to give Bynum one to two weeks of practice before evaluating if he was ready to play. On March 11, 2014, Bynum made his Pacers debut with 8 points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes in a 94–83 win over the Boston Celtics. He appeared in only two games before Indiana declared him out indefinitely with swelling and soreness in his right knee; he missed the remainder of the regular season. On May 7, before game 2 of the second round of the
2014 NBA playoffs against Washington, the Pacers announced that Bynum would miss the remainder of the season and would no longer be involved in team activities. As late as 2018, Bynum was still working on an attempted NBA comeback. ==NBA career statistics==