The Los Angeles Lakers will be well represented during the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be co-hosting the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend. With the All-Star festivities set to be in Los Angeles, the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers will be the hosts.
While all of the participants have yet to be announced, as the All-Star Weekend Saturday Night events have yet to be filled, we know who will be playing in the games.
The Lakers and Clippers for that matter were both shut out of the All-Star Game on Sunday evening. However, the Lakers will be well represented on Friday night in the MTN Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Game.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Rising Stars game will pit the greatest young NBA talent from around the world against the greatest young talent from the USA. Each team will be made up of 10 players, and the Lakers are well represented on Team USA.
Rookie point guard Lonzo Ball and forward Kyle Kuzma will both be a part of the team, along with second-year small forward Brandon Ingram. This will be the second time that Ingram plays in the game, as he was a part of Team USA as a rookie last year.
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All three players have earned a spot on the team to play on the bright stage of All-Star weekend. Ball has battled injuries in his rookie season, but when he is on the court he has produced. While his jump shot is a work in progress, Ball has strong averages of 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
Kuzma has been outstanding thus far in his first season in the NBA. The Lakers look to have gotten quite the steal, as they selected Kuzma with the No. 27 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. All Kuzma has done is lead the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game. He has also added 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Ingram is beginning to blossom in his sophomore season. He still has a lot of room to improve, but he has certainly taken a step forward from his rookie season.
After averaging only 9.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game as a rookie, Ingram has improved to 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season.
With the Lakers having three players named to the Rising Stars game this year, that makes 15 all-time appearances for the franchise. They have had 12 different players participate in the game.
Joining the trio of Lakers on Team USA is Malcolm Brogdon, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, John Collins, Kris Dunn, Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Smith Jr.
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Playing on Team World is Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield, Dillon Brooks, Lauri Markannen, Jamal Murray, Frank Ntilikina and Domantas Sabonis.
15 participants, 12 different players