Andrew Bynum (born October 27, 1987, in Plainsboro, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. As of 2006, he is listed as 7'0" and 275 lbs.
Andrew Bynum attended St. Joseph High School, in Metuchen, New Jersey.
As a senior, he averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots per game.
He originally planned to attend the University of Connecticut but decided to forgo college and make himself eligible for the 2005 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Lakers (tenth player selected overall) as the youngest player ever drafted, beating the previous record by the Portland Trail Blazers' selection of Jermaine O'Neal in 1996.
Andrew Bynum was 17 years, eight months and two days old, making him the youngest player to ever be drafted by an NBA team. This record will likely last for the foreseeable future since the new collective bargaining agreement between NBA owners and the NBA Players' Association mandates that American players who enter the NBA Draft must be at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class and reach age 19 no later than December 31 of the calendar year of the draft.
On November 2, 2005, during the Lakers season opener against the Denver Nuggets, Andrew Bynum played six minutes and became the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game at 18 years and 6 days old. During the game, Bynum missed his two field goal attempts but had two rebounds and two blocked shots.
In a game against the Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, Shaquille O'Neal dunked over Bynum, knocking the rookie to the floor. On the next play, Bynum moved to the low post, faked right then spun left around O'Neal and dunked the ball. He celebrated as he ran down the court and bumped into O'Neal, who retaliated by swinging an arm into Bynum's upper chest. Both players received technical fouls for the incident.
After selecting him in the draft, the Lakers hired Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a Lakers special assistant to work with the Lakers big men especially the young Andrew Bynum. Under Abdul-Jabbar's tutelage, the Lakers hope Bynum develops into one of the NBA's best centers.
Nicknames include "A-Bomb" and "Bynumite."
