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Los Angeles Lakers: Lonzo Ball ranked 45th by SLAM Magazine

By Kenneth Teape

GREENBURGH, NY - AUGUST 11: (EDITOR'S NOTE:This image has been converted to black and white) Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers poses for a portrati during the 2017 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at MSG Training Center on August 11, 2017 in Greenburgh, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
GREENBURGH, NY - AUGUST 11: (EDITOR'S NOTE:This image has been converted to black and white) Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers poses for a portrati during the 2017 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at MSG Training Center on August 11, 2017 in Greenburgh, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball finds himself ranked in SLAM Magazine’s top-50.

The Los Angeles Lakers are stuck in a bit of a rut. They are in the midst of the toughest stretch in franchise history, missing the postseason in four consecutive seasons. However, the arrow is pointing up for the Lakers.

A fifth consecutive playoff-less season could be on the horizon, but the Lakers have to feel good about the future. While the 2016-17 season didn’t go well in terms of wins and losses, the Lakers were big winners in the NBA Draft Lottery.

The Lakers finished with the third best odds to win the No. 1 pick. Had the Lakers finished outside the top-three, their pick would have been sent to the Philadelphia 76ers, with 2019’s first round pick being relayed to the Orlando Magic. Luckily for the Lakers, that did not happen.

The Lakers moved up in the draft order, landing the No. 2 overall pick. It put the Lakers in position to land one of the top-two point guards in this year’s draft class; Washington’s Markelle Fultz and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball.

Fultz went No. 1 to the Philadelphia 76ers, who acquired the pick from the Boston Celtics. With the second overall pick, the Lakers selected Ball.

Ball is as popular a rookie as we have seen in recent history. The hype train has done nothing but pick up steam since the Lakers selected him on draft night.

The first time fans got to see him in action in an NBA setting was the Las Vegas Summer League. After a brutal debut, Ball absolutely dominated.

He registered multiple triple-doubles and was the best player on the court on a nightly basis. Ball was named MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League despite missing two games.

Yes, Summer League competition isn’t an NBA regular season game, let alone a preseason game. However, it was an impressive showing. Players as talented as Ball should dominate in those settings and he lived up to the billing.

The expectations are high for Ball, and rightfully so. Magic Johnson has already declared him the face of the franchise. ESPN has predicted him to take home Rookie of the Year honors. HoopsHype ranked him as the 19th point guard in the league.

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SLAM Magazine took it even a step further than HoopsHype did. SLAM releases a top-50 list every season. Lakers center, Brook Lopez, was on the list at No. 48. Ball is slightly ahead of him at No. 45.

That is quite a ranking for someone who has yet to play a minute in the NBA. He is not the only rookie to appear on the list thus far as the 76ers rookie, Ben Simmons, is ranked No. 49. Dion Waiters is No. 50, Harrison Barnes is No. 47 and Jrue Holiday is No. 46.

Here is part of what Adam Figman had to say about Ball being ranked No. 45.

"It’s a little too soon to say that the hype is real, but my god the hype certainly seems to be at least relatively justified. From just a week or two of on-court action, we suddenly know a few big facts:He’s unselfish as hell and his teammates are going to have a lot of fun hooping alongside himHe’s good for one or two “Daaaaaamn!” highlights per game, at minimumHe needs to become a slightly better jumpshooter, which is something you can say for approximately 93 percent of rookiesHis ceiling is very, very high—like Jason Kidd-meets-Penny Hardaway highHe’s going to be the 45th best player in the NBA this season, and then in the ensuing years he’s going to be ranked even higher"

As if Ball’s expectations weren’t high already, this should ensure they continue soaring. A ceiling of Jason Kidd and Penny Hardaway is quite a lot to live up to. If he is able to clean up his jump shot, Ball has a great chance of quickly ascending given his already elite passing ability.

Next: 4 Reasons Drafting Lonzo Ball Was Right move

His defense wasn’t mentioned, which is probably his biggest area of concern right now. However, the Lakers did a good job of adding a defensive minded shooting guard in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to play alongside Ball.

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