‘Shame on you, Mr. Bagley’: Former Kings commentator Grant Napear rips Marvin Bagley Jr.
Former Kings play-by-play man Grant Napear blasted Marvin Bagley III’s father Monday for throwing another fit on Twitter during Saturday’s game against the Miami Heat.
Marvin Bagley Jr. has repeatedly used the Team Bagley Twitter account to like, tweet and retweet negative comments about Kings coach Luke Walton. He did it again Saturday night, when Walton didn’t play Bagley in the fourth quarter of a 105-104 loss to Miami, retweeting one comment that called Walton an “a-hole” and another that called for him to be fired.
Napear, who left Sacramento’s airwaves in June following his own social media controversy, ripped Bagley’s father during his daily “Grant’s Rant” segment on YouTube. Napear called Bagley Jr. “an embarrassment to his son” and a “bad look for the NBA.”
“Marvin’s father doesn’t give a damn whether the Kings win or lose. Doesn’t matter to him,” Napear said. “All he cares about is his son. How many points does he get, how many rebounds and, of course, how many minutes does he play? Other than that, Mr. Bagley doesn’t give a damn about anything.
“Now, I know this is a real tough spot for Marvin. And I don’t know the family dynamics, so I’m not going to come on here and rip Marvin because I don’t know what’s going on within the walls of his house. What I do know is Mr. Bagley, Marvin’s father, is an embarrassment to his son.”
Bagley finds himself at the center of another social media firestorm involving his father even as coaches and teammates have praised him for his recent development. Bagley, the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, is playing catch-up after missing all but 13 games due to injuries last season. He struggled early this season but has shown progress at both ends of the floor.
Bagley had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with four rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes against the Heat. Walton said he intended to play Bagley in the fourth quarter, but he decided to stick with a group that outscored the Heat 27-21 in the final period, giving the Kings a chance to win.
“Marvin played great tonight,” Walton said. “He really was kind of helping keep us around while some other guys were struggling and I was planning on getting him back in there. But they had small lineups out there with Bam (Adebayo) rolling every time, and then that group we had in to start the fourth, who finishes a lot of games for us, they — we got back into it. We felt there was a nice rhythm and connection going. We were getting stops. I mean, they scored 21 in the fourth, so we stayed with what was working at the time, but Marvin played a very solid game.”
One of the biggest improvements in Bagley’s game recently has been his 3-point shooting. He is shooting 40.5% from 3-point range over the past 14 games. Walton said Bagley’s shot “looks good” but opponents are still helping off of him on the perimeter, which limits the team’s spacing. Perhaps it was no coincidence De’Aaron Fox took over in the fourth quarter against the Heat, utilizing better floor spacing to score 17 of his 30 points in the final 10:12.
“We know with how we want to play, we’ve got to be able to space the floor,” Walton said. “We want to keep that lane open and the only way to do that is to be confident and ready to knock down 3s when they come your way. So teams for now, at least, they help off Marvin pretty strong, and he knows … as long as they’re good rhythm shots like they were tonight, that’s how we want to play and we want him to be able to do that as a player for us.”
Bagley Jr. has expressed his frustrations on social media numerous times in the past. He was critical of former coach Dave Joerger, whom he referred to as “Dave Yogurt” after Joerger inadvertently referred to his son as Marvin Gaye during a visit to Detroit. Just last month, Bagley Jr. urged the Kings to trade his son, tweeting: “@SacramentoKings PLEASE trade Marvin Bagley III ASAP!”
Bagley Jr. signed that tweet “Love – Coach Bagley.”
Napear, the former Kings TV play-by-play announcer and KHTK radio host, left Sacramento amid accusations of racial insensitivity following a Twitter exchange with former Kings center DeMarcus Cousins last summer.
Napear said Bagley Jr.’s social media antics have to stop.
“This is a real bad look, sir. It really is,” Napear said. “And we’ve gone through this now on this rant here on my YouTube channel two, three, four times, and it’s not getting any better. I’ll just say one thing: I am so happy you’re not my dad because I wouldn’t be able to put up with that and I don’t know how the hell Marvin is putting up with you. Because you are a real bad look for your son and you’re a bad look for the Sacramento Kings and you’re a bad look for the NBA. Shame on you, Mr. Bagley.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 2:44 PM.
