Lakers: Larry Nance Jr Calls Brandon Ingram ‘The Real Deal’ After First Practices

Larry Nance Jr already had some high praise for his new Lakers’ teammate, Brandon Ingram after their first two practices together

Summer League practice for the Los Angeles Lakers is officially underway and the young Lakers already appear to be getting along swimmingly with their newest teammate out of Duke University, Brandon Ingram.

Of those teammates, Larry Nance Jr was the first to praise Ingram for his impressive play on the court.

Interviewed after practice on Wednesday morning, Nance Jr talked about how he’s been working hard on expanding his range to three point distance and that he plans to fire them up during Summer League.

Interestingly, Nance actually spent the majority of his interview raving and ranting about Brandon Ingram. When asked about his initial impression of the rookie he said,

"I’m really impressed. Honestly, I am. I had never seen him play… before meeting him, there’s not a lot of time to watch college basketball, but I was expecting this kid, you know, real skinny… obviously he can play but it might take a while. Nah… he’s the real deal. He’s pretty good. I called my dad the day after the first practice and was like ‘Ey, I think this kid’s gonna be alright.’"

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He continued,

"He is skinny, you know, he’s a frail kid but he’s tough… On screens he’ll hit you… On rebounds he’ll hit you… He gives you what he’s got and that immediately takes away the ‘soft’ label… or the ‘tiny’ label, I guess because you have what you have to work with and he uses his to the best of his ability."

A reporter specifically asked how Nance felt about Ingram’s ability to glide effortlessly on the floor versus his own ability to soar vertically, something which Nance could only describe as “deer” like. More over, he voiced his opinion that the new system they’re running “is really going to fit him.”

When given the chance to throw his old coach under the bus when inquired about new coach, Luke Walton, Nance took the high road as always calling him a “player’s coach” and that it’s already “a different feel.”

Next: Should the Lakers Deal for Russell Westbrook?

Amidst all of the trade rumors, the Lakers are currently in a great position moving forward and Nance serves as an exemplar to this point.