There may come a time years from now that we look back at September 17, 2018 as a day of great loss Bebe Noguiera signed in Europe. Unable to secure an NBA deal, the Brazilian had to look across the Atlantic for someone to fund future facial art. Acquired from the Hawks, Bebe grew to be known as a lanky center with a flair for the unspectacular – a club mascot of sorts. It was reasonable that expectations were low, affording Bebe to bounce between the D-League and occasional call-ups without so much of a blink of an eye from even the most ardent of supporters. It wasn’t his time yet. He was found money and the thought was that he was unlikely to amount to anything of tangible value – kind of like stock options handed by Blockchain startups.
The Raptors selecting Bruno Caboclo in the 2014 draft gave way to a dynamic Brazilian duo sans the dynamic part. Though playing time was limited, the two featured heavily on Instagram where they jumped in shopping carts, pranked around, and discovered to their great joy what NBA money could do for a man. It was a coming of age story, one that has every right to be turned into a Netflix special watched by nobody ever.
Caboclo was the man the Raptors were betting on in the long-term, though it was Bebe that paid the dividends early on. As it turned out, Bebe was a surprisingly proficient passer at his position. In fact, he was so proficient that he even passed the ball when he was wide open and a foot away from the rim, much to the chagrin of many. As time passed, Bebe discovered that he could set picks, roll to the rim, and even finish, all with varying levels of inconsistency. Still, on a team where Jonas Valanciunas was the starting center, through contrast, the nimble Bebe gave us a glimpse into what the moden center might look like (minus the shooting and the scoring).
Under Dwane Casey, Bebe became a sporadic role player called into action during garbage time, foul trouble, and on the odd occasion where Casey felt he could throw a different look about. He “peaked” in the 2016-17 season when he played 57 games and averaged 19.1 minutes, including a memorable post-season appearance. His greatest defensive asset was his mobility, where he could, at least in theory, hedge the ball-handler and recover to contest any drives. He ran the floor relatively well and often found himself with the ball in the middle of the court on the break, so he could pass it off underneath for a layup or two. Bebe never developed any legitimate lower or upper body strength which might see him become a better rebounder, and instead got pushed around fairly easily far too often.
His basketball IQ was above-average but his physical development never kept pace. A cynical observer might say that he was simply lazy. Lazy enough to not adequately develop his body, his jumper, or any sort of a scoring game. This may be a harsh assessment. The Raptors organization genuinely invested in his development with an open mind, only to be rewarded with inconsistency that did not befit a player entering his fifth year in the league, thus the wave goodbye. There is a forum thread which was started three years ago which chronicles his time in Toronto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dau2y8kzJKY
There is something to be said when in the modern NBA, where a center of his raw qualities is considered an asset, that he could not find a home. A return to the NBA is possible but unlikely – a shaky jumper, inconsistent finishing and lack of rebounding prowess will always leave him on on the outside looking in. Having said all that, there is a school of thought that would say that he’d provide more of a contrast to JV than Greg Monroe. I agree with that school of thought, but I will skip the classes as you got to go with experience over potential here.
Shout out to my dad who always called him Baby Nicaragua and loved him to death.
All in all, Bebe’s short and relatively lucrative career sets him up nicely. He was a nice guy who was just happy to be around. Maybe he was tougher – both mentally and physically – and could play through injuries even a little bit, it might have worked out. My favorite story is when he was asked what’s up with the face tatoos, and he replied:
“I just can’t help myself.”
Source: HoopsHype
