The Los Angeles Lakers have a very talented rookie in Lonzo Ball. Recently, NBA general managers predicted him to win the Rookie of the Year award.
Heading into the 2017-18 season, all eyes will be on Los Angeles Lakers point guard, Lonzo Ball. As we saw in the Las Vegas Summer League, Ball certainly brings a lot of attention to the Lakers with his entertaining playing style.
Despite his age, Ball has the unique ability to control the pace of the game from the point guard position. As a former point guard himself, Magic Johnson loved what Ball brought to the table and he used the second overall pick to get him.
Now that the Summer League has come and gone, Ball and the Lakers are preparing for the regular season. With training camp and the preseason underway, the Lakers are trying to build chemistry with a lot of new faces heading into the regular season.
Right off the bat, Ball is going to be the starting point guard for Los Angeles. With a talented group around him, Ball will be responsible for setting up his teammates for good opportunities. As shown in the Summer League, that should be no problem for Ball.
While the Lakers are hoping that Ball will help lead the team to the playoffs this season, he will also likely be in the running for some individual accolades. One of which being the Rookie of the Year Award.
Including Ball, this past draft class was a very talented one with a lot of players that should be successful early on in their careers. In addition to this year’s class, the No.1 overall pick from last season is eligible to win the Rookie of the Year award, as Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t play last season.
Recently, NBA general managers were asked about who would be the Rookie of the Year by John Schuhmann of NBA.com. Despite not being the first pick in the draft, Ball received over 60 percent of the votes with Ben Simmons coming in second place with 24 percent.
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As the starting point guard of a team that will likely be one of the highest scoring in the league, Ball should be able to put up some impressive stats this season. However, the Lakers will hope that those stats translate into wins.