LOS ANGELES — The countdown to Moses Moody’s first NBA game starts with 90 minutes on the clock.
That’s when the 19-year-old rookie exits the locker room for the first time and walks on to the hardwood at Staples Center. Moody says the bright lights don’t bother him; he compared the court to a stage with the way the hardwood is illuminated.
The Warriors bet on the roster they have — and the seasoning of a player with a year of college under his belt — when they opted to use their pair of lottery picks on Moody and Jonathan Kuminga, also 19, rather than package them for an established star.
On opening night, Kuminga was out with a knee strain. Moody has secured himself a spot at the very end of the rotation.
“I think Moses has made a strong case for himself and I wouldn’t hesitate to put him out there,” coach Steve Kerr said before tipoff. “But at the same time, we’ve got other guys who’ve proven it for a lot of years and they will probably get the first crack at the minutes.”
He has quickly endeared himself to his teammates with an understated confidence.
Not unstated, to be sure.
“I’m ready for it,” Moody says, sitting in a courtside seat a few hours before tipoff, as he outlines to the Bay Area News Group exactly how his moments before tipoff will unfold. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Moody used his five preseason games to establish a pregame routine, which he put into action for a game that counts for the first time Tuesday night against the Lakers at Staples Center.
“The dark seats surrounding the court, the bright lights on the court. It’s almost like you’re on a stage performing,” Moody says. “My whole life, I always wanted to go to the NBA. When I was kid, I used to say it, not knowing if it was going to happen or how real it was going to be. It’s time now.”
Moody’s NBA dreams first crystalized through AAU games, into high school, when he transferred to basketball powerhouse Montverde Academy (Fla.), and finally, when he arrived at the University of Arkansas and saw his name on draft boards for the first time.
He has also gained a reputation for taking offensive fouls, a skill he picked up in AAU ball, when a coach offered up a dollar per charge. His hard-nosed play earned a friend in Draymond Green.
“You quickly see Moses Moody in there (expletive) arm-checking Dwight Howard,” Green said after Moody’s first preseason game against the Lakers. “You quickly see tendencies. … That kind of gives you a sense of who he is.”
Closer to tipoff, Moody heads back through the tunnel. He goes through a weight routine, then heads back to the locker room while his teammates take the court to get their pregame shots up.
Moody opts for solitude before tipoff. He puts his jersey on and gets taped up.
“That just about takes me up to game time,” he says.
He had it all planned out.
Source: www.mercurynews.com