Even for a short time, Jimmermania 2.0 was well worth it

Forget about Jimmer Fredette’s past. Forget about his future. Just enjoying the fun of watching him play was well worth his brief return to the spotlight.

It only lasted five games.

Just three weeks, seven years after he took the nation by storm.

The return of Jimmermania was well worth it, even if it was for just a short time.

Jimmer Fredette took the basketball world by storm once again as he played in The Basketball Tournament. His highlights were all over social media. He efound himself back on the front page of ESPN. And even though he doesn’t suit up for BYU any more, Cougar fans lapped it up.

Of course he’s polarizing. Fans believe he never got the right situation in the NBA. Detractors say he’s completely overrated.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

Jimmer used the event to keep himself in the minds of NBA front offices. He’d love to return to the NBA.

Will he get chat chance? Maybe, maybe not.

But was his brief return to the public conscience worth it for BYU fans?

Let’s broaden that, was it worth it for basketball fans?

You bet.

Why? I can give you one word:

Fun.

Watching Jimmer play basketball is just flat-out fun. Sure, his game has holes that kept him from becoming like Steph Curry. He’s too small to play the position he’s best at in the NBA, and he’s not a great defender.

But man is he fun to watch.

More than 30 former NBA players played in The Basketball Tournament this year. None of them garnered the attention that Jimmer did.

Few of them drew double and triple-teams.

None of them had an opposing coach write “Don’t let Jimmer catch” on his whiteboard.

Jimmer leads the tournament in scoring, and he was efficient in the way that he did it. He also got his teammates involved, running the offense rather than going lone wolf.

And when he heated up, there was an air of anticipation. He can score the ball in ways that others can’t. He can singlehandedly change momentum.

Just look at Thursday’s semifinal. Team Fredette trailed Eberlein Drive (a team with six former NBA players) by 11 at the end of the third quarter. The announcers were already talking about how Eberlein Drive would match up in the finals against Overseas Elite.

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Then Jimmer took over.

Team Fredette went on a lightning-quick 13-2 run. Jimmer scored 11 of those points, including a pull-up three from way behind the line. The other two points his team scored? He assisted on that bucket.

And the crowd went crazy.

It was Jimmer Time.

This was fun.

There are plenty of great basketball players. But very few can make basketball so much fun to watch.

BYU has had very good players since Jimmer left. Tyler Haws, Kyle Collinsworth, Eric Mika, Yoeli Childs. None of them make basketball as much fun as Jimmer does. That’s not a knock against them, it just shows how rare a player like Jimmer is.

So all we can do is enjoy the Jimmer train whenever it comes to town. Maybe we’ll see him back in the NBA. Maybe we’ll see him back in The Basketball Tournament next year.

But there’s nothing wrong with hopping aboard whenever we can and enjoying the fun. No matter the destination, the ride is more than worth it.

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