Warriors center Charles Bassey looks back on an injury-filled road to Golden State

Charles Bassey spent his 26th birthday looking back on how he got here, and the story starts with injuries. The Golden State Warriors center has dealt with a broken leg, a fractured kneecap and a torn ACL since college, and knee tendinitis held him out of the first two games of this season. He is still in the league, though, and still competing for a regular spot in Steve Kerr's frontcourt.

"Obviously, I've had injuries and I'm still here, so it's been a long, adverse journey," Bassey said in a team video, as reported by ESPN. He also explained how he found the sport. He grew up playing soccer in Nigeria and only tried basketball after a coach, someone he had been trying to sell chicken to, talked him into it.

That start took him to Western Kentucky, where a tibial plateau fracture in his left leg ended his sophomore season in December 2019. Philadelphia took him 53rd overall in 2021. In San Antonio, a patella fracture ended his 2022-23 season in March, and that December he tore the ACL in his left knee while playing for the Austin Spurs. Last season he moved between Memphis, Philadelphia and Boston before Santa Cruz acquired him from Delaware in December. Across 20 G League games he averaged 20.5 points and 12.5 rebounds, and ESPN notes he was the only qualifying player to reach both 20 and 12.

Golden State signed him in April. The San Francisco Chronicle reported at the time that Al Horford and Quinten Post were both out injured, and that Kerr saw Bassey as an athletic rim-runner for short stretches. He averaged 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds over the final five games and signed a one-year deal in July.

He has had both kinds of nights so far this season. In his debut, a 131-122 loss at Phoenix on Oct. 24, he went 4-for-4 from the field for 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in just under 13 minutes. Two nights later at Denver he went scoreless with one rebound. As ESPN framed it, he is still working to earn a set role.

What it means for Friday against the Lakers

Golden State is 2-3 and has won two straight after an 0-3 start. They won 134-114 at Denver, then 119-114 at Minnesota, where Stephen Curry scored 44, according to ESPN. The three losses before that were a 127-105 defeat at the Lakers on opening night, a 111-108 home loss to Memphis and the defeat in Phoenix.

The Lakers come to San Francisco on Friday, Oct. 30, on Prime Video. Bassey missed the first meeting, and Golden State was outscored by 22 that night. This rematch will show whether Kerr leans on him as a backup big. If he gets minutes, his rebounding and rim protection in short shifts are the most direct way he can help.

Bassey has gone from the G League to a guaranteed NBA contract in less than a year. The Warriors are coming off two strong road wins, and a home game against the team that beat them badly in the opener is a good test of whether he has a place in the rotation.