The Los Angeles Lakers have Lonzo Ball’s back after Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat took a shot at him on Twitter.
Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball is under immense pressure. Being the No. 2 overall pick in the draft comes with a ton of expectations.
President of basketball operations Magic Johnson has already dubbed him the face of the franchise. The team traded the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, D’Angelo Russell, to the Brooklyn Nets in part to clear a starting spot for Ball. However, nothing compared to the pressure put on Lonzo by his father, LaVar Ball.
Anyone who follows basketball even minimally, or watches the news, has more than likely heard of LaVar Ball. He is the founder of the Big Baller Brand and has said some outlandish things in regards to his son’s basketball abilities. Lonzo is the oldest, while LiAngelo is going to be a freshman at UCLA this season and LaMelo is 15-years old.
Some of the things that LaVar has said has put a target on Lonzo. In his regular-season debut, Los Angeles Clippers defensive ace Patrick Beverley hounded Ball for 94 feet. He worked hard to shut Ball down and accomplished that, as Ball scored only three points in the game.
Beverley taunted Ball virtually the whole game, playing extremely physical. After the game, he said that Ball that plenty of players will be coming at him because of the things that his father has said.
Once again, something LaVar said caught the attention of another NBA player. LaVar sent a message to the Washington Wizards, the team the Lakers will be facing next on Wednesday night.
Wizards center Marcin Gortat responded to this, taking a shot at Lonzo. Gortat let it be known that John Wall will work Lonzo hard and torture him for 48 minutes.
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In this day and age, everyone sees what happens on social media. Ball’s Lakers teammates saw it and will have his back.
"“Yeah, of course we did,” Brandon Ingram said when asked if he saw Gortat’s tweet on Monday. “Everyone has social media, definitely saw it. The competitor in Lonzo, of course he didn’t take it so well and, with his teammates behind him, we didn’t take it so well.”“We just have to go and compete,” Ingram said of his good friend. “Of course everyone is going to try to attack [Ball] because of who he is and what he does on the basketball floor. All we can do is have his back and have his back through everything and make sure he is fighting over screens and make sure he is there mentally so everyone can be there mentally.”"
This is something Lonzo is used to. He said it is how he grew up, so he is used to the extra attention brought upon him by his dad. He added that he doesn’t pay any mind to it, and knows that his teammates have his back.
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The best way to gain respect and quiet down opposing players is to win on the court. If Ball can help lead the Lakers to a victory over the Wizards on Wednesday night, it would leave Gortat looking foolish for the tweet that he made.