The Los Angeles Lakers signed center Andre Drummond after he was bought out by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
There was a ton of hype and excitement around the move, as Drummond is one of the league’s premiere rebounders and the Lakers badly needed reinforcements down low. Montrezl Harrell’s blunt reaction to the signing echoed that of many.
Although it’s still early, Drummond has been a mixed bag early on. He got hurt immediately, came back slowly and hasn’t really dominated in the way many hoped he would.
That said, the excitement regarding what he might be able to accomplish alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis is still palpable.
It’s too early to truly judge him yet.
This week, after the Lakers’ victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, Drummond was asked to answer a very simple question: where did your nickname, ‘The Penguin,’ come from?
Tonight I asked Andre Drummond the most important question of my career so far: Where did his nickname, “The Penguin,” come from?
Our exchange: pic.twitter.com/EcAEHYwt3k
— TV’s Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) April 14, 2021
“Listen, man, I don’t know where that came from,” he said.
“Bron came up to me one day and said ‘yo, is your nickname Big Penguin?’ I said ‘man, I don’t know where that came from or how it started, or who came up with the name. All I know is that someone must have found out that penguins are one of my favorite animals, and kind of put and two together.”
Of course, since the internet is undefeated, it didn’t take long to discover the origin of Drummond’s nickname.
Either Drummond forgot or he’s trying to play it off.
Hard to forget something you made multiple Vines out of though…https://t.co/owZzYdZy9H pic.twitter.com/WihmyRTH06
— Manifest THIS (@StaticShaq) April 14, 2021
So there you have it. That’s why he is nicknamed ‘The Penguin.’
Now that the story is out, hopefully Drummond can get back to focusing on basketball. Last week, he got absolutely destroyed by Jimmy Butler in the Lakers’ game versus the Heat. Butler literally mocked him mid-play.
The hope is that once James and Davis return, Drummond will have an easier time playing alongside them and finally become the player LA hoped he’d be when he was signed.
Just give LaMelo Rookie of the Year now. https://t.co/jyuEfUi2x4
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 8, 2021
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
