Los Angeles Lakers have most-viewed Summer League game of all-time
By Nick Ziegler
The Los Angeles Lakers came into the Summer League with a lot of expectations. With the expectations high, fans turned in to see the Lakers.
Over the past few seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers have not been a winning team. As Kobe Bryant’s career came to a close, the Lakers fell on some hard times. As one of the best franchises in the NBA, the losing had to stop.
In order to stop the losing, the Lakers turned to Magic Johnson to help turn things around. Johnson certainly has the magic touch when it comes to his businesses, and now he will be trying to turn the Lakers around.
Despite there being a chance that the Lakers would not have their pick in the NBA Draft, they were able to get into the Top 3 and eventually landed the second overall pick. With a need for a star and a leader, the Lakers ended up selecting UCLA guard, Lonzo Ball.
With an outspoken father, a lot of pressure has been placed on the young shoulders of Ball. Even though it was just Summer League, all eyes were on Ball. To start the Summer League, things didn’t go so well for Ball. In the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Ball struggled shooting the basketball, as he went just two-for-15.
After quite possibly the worst game of his life, Ball bounced back. With a big showdown against the Celtics in the second game, Ball ended up with a triple-double against the Lakers’ rival. While some don’t put a lot of stock into Summer League, fans certainly tuned in to see Ball and Jason Tatum square off.
As you can see, the game against the Celtics was the most-watched game in Summer League history with 1.1 million viewers.
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In fact, the Lakers ended up having the five most-viewed games in the Summer League this year.
Even though they haven’t been winning in the regular season, it is clear that the Lakers are building something special now. As shown by the viewership on ESPN, the Lakers have a player that everyone wants to see in Ball.