Mickael (Gelly) Gelabale in camp with Lakers

I’m a little late to the party reporting this, but I was watching NBA Real Training Camp which is profiling the Lakers today. Rick Kamla and James Worthy are there talking while the  action is going on in the background. I was sort of nominally watching while also reading some story on the internet, and then I saw an old familiar sight: Gelly’s big, long pony tail.

Mickael Gelabale was a second round pick for the Sonics in 2005 but stayed in Europe for another year. He came to the team in ’06-07, which was the last year of the Ray Allen/Rashard Lewis Sonic teams. He got some burn with the team and quickly became a fan favorite. He really got after it defensively which the fans truly loved (especially since the Sonic team from the year before was one of the worst defensive teams of the decade).  Gelly is a wing in the mold of Kyle Weaver and so was always looking to get minutes at the same positions as Ray, Rashard and Damien Wilkins.

Gelly came back in ’07-’08 ready to build on his rookie season, but then found himself behind some guy named Durant (and Wally Szczerbiak by the way). Gelly blew out his ACL after sparse minutes in 39 games and he was allowed to ride off into the sunset.

It probably doesn’t matter that much to most of the newer Thunder fans but Gelly was one of those guys who was sort of bridge between the old Sonics and the new Thunder. He played with Ray Allen and Rashard, but also with Durant and Green. He played for Bob Hill, but also for P.J. Carlesimo.  He was drafted by Rick Sund but sent to the D-League by Sam Presti.

It’s great to see him resurface. He’s healthy and in camp with the Lakers on a “make good” training camp deal. It’s possible there is a spot for him, but this Times article makes it seem like he’s a longshot.