Brandon Ingram looks like he is going to be the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick come Thursday night and if you weren’t already hyped enough, watch this video
The Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly locked in on selecting Ben Simmons with the first overall pick, and with Simmons himself doing little to deny the fact, the Lakers would likely draft Duke product, Brandon Ingram at second overall.
According to draft wizard, Jonathan Givony the Lakers would have targeted Ingram with the number one pick regardless, so in that case, everyone wins. But if you weren’t completely sold on Ingram already, this video compiled by Duke’s Basketball department should do the trick.
Coming from a rough background in crime riddled neighborhoods of Kinston, North Carolina, Ingram defied the odds, choosing basketball over “street life,” making his city proud along the way.
"If you’re not a person from Kinston and you just hear a lot about it, you would just think it’s a violent town because of all the shootings and all the killings but I just think it’s made me what I am today"
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Winning four straight State Championships at Kinston High School, surprisingly he was only the third ranked high school prospect in ESPN’s recruiting database, behind Ben Simmons and Skal Labissiere.
Personally, the most intriguing aspect from the video isn’t Ingram’s back story, but rather how much he reminded me of Kobe Bryant. From missing his senior prom to workout in the gym, to his respect for Coach K and the Duke basketball family, to his overall demeanor, I can’t help but see the Mamba in him.
At around the four minute mark, Ingram revealed “My dad has a rec gym right around the corner, so I’m there a lot. I wasn’t a party guy, so I was always there,” and later spoke on what being a Blue Devil meant to him.
“Being at Duke, it was more than I expected. It helped me be a better man and most definitely, helped me be a better basketball player.”
While it’s one thing for a player’s family and friends to talk about him, hearing high praise directly from Coach K is another thing completely.
"Brandon loves the process of becoming good. A lot of kids want to be good, they have the potential to be good, but they don’t fall in love with the process…He’s not through growing, not just putting on weight, you know, he’s 18. And he could grow, he could be taller, and he wants to be good. I think he could be very unique and become a star in the NBA."
Simmons might be the prospect with the highest upside in the upcoming draft, but Ingram’s demeanor, drive and skillset makes him the perfect fit for the Lakers.
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Whether or not he proves to have the “Mamba Mentality” that Kyrie Irving referenced after winning the NBA Finals earlier this week, we’ll just have to wait and see. (H/T to SilverScreenAndRoll for the video find)