Dorell Wright, in breakout season, returns to L.A.

Born in Los Angeles and reared in its inner city, Dorell Wright needed to crisscross the country to make it back to his hometown for tonight's three-point competition during All-Star weekend.

But here he is.

The Warriors' swingman took a journey from Los Angeles to South Kent, Conn., to Miami to Oakland, and this week he was back in L.A. at some of his old haunts, talking to the youth about the NBA spotlight.

"There were definitely some rough patches along the way, but I can finally see a little light at the end of the tunnel," Wright said before going back to see his high school coach and practicing with ball racks hand-made by his father. "My hard work is paying off, and everything is starting to come together in a better way than I could have planned."

Wright, a wiry 6-foot-9 perimeter player, is having a career year that has him head and shoulders above the competition for the league's Most Improved Player award. At the midway point of this season, he has bettered his career best years in nine statistical categories.

Signed this offseason on a three-year, $11.4 million deal, Wright has proved to be much more than the spot-up shooter and perimeter defender that the rest of the league saw during his first six seasons.

The Warriors got a player who keeps getting a longer leash from coach Keith Smart and keeps asking for and deserving more running room. Wright is the Warriors' best perimeter defender and is in the conversation as their best post defender. He's their best inbounder, he can shoot standing still or off screens, he can create off the dribble, and he's starting to finish at the rim.

"All of those things are coming from a player who we didn't think would be able to do any of it, especially this soon," Smart said. "He should be flirting with a triple-double every night. I'm not going to hold him back until he proves that he can't do something successfully."