Mustafa Shakur Impressive in NBA Debut with Wizards

Filed under: Wizards, NBA D-League, Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Tulsa 66ers

Mustafa Shakur didn't get an opportunity to appear in any games during his first NBA contract after being called up from the Tulsa 66ers to the Oklahoma City Thunder last March, so he definitely took advantage of his first chance at playing in the NBA on Saturday night.



Shakur, a 6-foot-3 guard who was called up from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to the Washington Wizards after playing in Bismarck, N.D. on Friday night, made quite the first impression by scoring five points, dishing five assists and even picking up a pair of blocks in his 10 minutes of playing time while backing up John Wall.



"Oh, man, it's a great feeling and an unbelievable opportunity the organization has given me to come in here and just be a part of everything," Shakur told the Washington Post after his debut performance in the NBA.



Talking to FanHouse on Friday night after learning he'd be leaving for Washington the following morning, Shakur said that he was planning to go straight to the gym to go over some plays before playing in Saturday night's game. While it doesn't sound like he was able to digest the entire playbook, he learned enough to impress first overall pick John Wall -- the only other healthy point guard available on the roster -- and head coach Flip Saunders.



"He did a great job playing backup minutes," Wall told the Post. "I got two early fouls, and he helped us out. He gave us a spark of scoring and also finding people. It was a great addition to have, and hopefully he can keep helping us out."



Saunders was also encouraged by his play.



"John picks up his foul, and we're down (13), and here's a guy coming in who doesn't really know much of our offense and made a couple plays for himself, looked like he belonged out there," Saunders told the Post. "He was comfortable, defended pretty well, and got it to a manageable situation where we got it to around 10."



One of the plays Saunders talked about was a beautiful dribble move to shake Nate Robinson loose before Shakur pulled up over top of Robinson for a jumper in the lane. Shakur was fouled on the play and hit the ensuing free throw.



Not everything was roses for Shakur's NBA debut, however, as news of his arrival to the Wizards apparently came too late for them to get his jersey measurements, leaving him looking a bit silly out on the court.



Shakur's plus/minus of plus-6 was the second highest on the team, trailing only Cartier Martin, a wing who was called up from the D-League last season.



The next chance to catch Shakur in action will be Monday night as the Wizards take on the New York Knicks on NBA TV.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/01/23/mustafa-shakur-impressive-in-nba-debut-with-wizards/