1. Ball is a homegrown player
It’s hard to go wrong drafting the homegrown kid. Lonzo Ball’s play has been captivating Southern California since 2012 when he played at Chino Hills High School. Ball’s popularity continued to grow when he took his talents 40 minutes west to play at UCLA.
There, he led the Bruins back to the Sweet 16 while averaging 14 points and 7.6 assists per game. Ball also completely changed the vibe around UCLA athletics in his one year stint at the school.
Being born and raised in the Southern California area and now playing for his hometown team makes Ball easy to root for if you’re a Lakers fan. It also doesn’t hurt that Lonzo is a Lakers fan and made it well known it would be a dream come true to play for them.
He had already accumulated a lot of fans during his time at Chino Hills and UCLA and he’s going to gain a lot more while playing for the purple and gold.
We’ve already seen the impact of Ball being on the Lakers in summer league where all games he’s playing in are sold out. He’s been a media darling and he attracts attention, unlike anyone we’ve seen in a long time, which is perfect for Los Angeles.