The Orlando Magic only signed Brandon Bass yesterday, but given how frequently Magic fans have discussed his game in recent weeks, it seems like he joined the team a long time ago. You'll understand my reluctance, I'm sure, to parrot the arguments for and against his signing in this space. We know he's listed at 6'08", we know (as does coach Stan Van Gundy) he can hit the 17-foot jumper, we know he gets rejected on nearly 30% of his shots within 6 feet of the basket that aren't dunks or tip-ins, and we know he can defend power forwards or centers despite his small stature.
So, rather than regurgitating what's already been said, I propose looking at some numbers--statistics, sure, but other things as well--to give us a better idea about Bass and his game.
0: number of times Bass has shot better than 50% over the course of a whole season in his career. He shot 246-of-493 two seasons ago, just one made basket short of reaching the 50% plateau.
3: number of Chicago Bulls whom Bass victimizes with a dunk in this clip.
5: number of career starts, in 210 games over 4 seasons. Only 1 of those came with Dallas, with which he distinguished himself.
7: career double-doubles for Bass. Each one came during his time with the Mavericks.
13.4: percentage of available total rebounds Bass snagged while he was on the floor last season. That'd rank third among Orlando's rotation players last year, behind Dwight Howard (21.8) and Marcin Gortat (20.3). It's just more than Tony Battie's figure of 13.0.
15: Bass' rank last season, among all qualified NBA players, in two-point jumper accuracy, according to 82games. Bass connected on 45.4% of his two-point jumpers. The only big-men to exceed Bass in this category were Dirk Nowitzki (47.4%), Antonio McDyess (47.3%), Darius Songaila (46.2%), and Pau Gasol (46.0%).
16.6: Bass' foul-drawing rate last season, per 82games.com. Dwight Howard (27.6%) was the only Magic big man to exceed that number in 2008/2009.
18: reported dollar value, in millions, of Bass' deal with the Magic. It runs for four seasons, with an opt-out after the third.
30: Bass' uniform number with Orlando, per the Magic's press release about his signing. He previously wore #33 with New Orleans and #32 with Dallas.
39: number of YouTube hits for the search, "Brandon Bass Dunk."
79.25: Bass' height in shoes, in inches, according to DraftExpress. That'd translate to 6'07.25".
83.3: Bass' career free-throw percentage. Ryan Anderson (84.5%) and J.J. Redick (86.6%) are the only Magic players with a higher career mark from the charity stripe.