Despite being one of the youngest players in the league, Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers has a lot of pressure on him.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a big 2017 draft class with three first-round picks. With the first of their three picks, the Lakers selected point guard Lonzo Ball from UCLA. During the draft process, LaVar Ball was proclaiming that Lonzo would end up being on the Lakers.
When draft day came, Lonzo was indeed drafted by the Lakers and a lot of pressure was placed on his shoulders. Between his dad and Magic Johnson, Lonzo had arguably the most pressure on him than any other rookie in the NBA. While Lonzo did have a lot of injuries to deal with this season, he played well when he was on the court.
Recently, Lonzo’s teammate Kyle Kuzma talked about how he handled the pressure in his rookie season. Here is what he said via Undisputed with text from LakersNation.com.
"“That hype, it will forever be there for the rest of his career. But for him, he does a great job of really masking it. You never really see it on his face. That’s a great quality he has.”"
Like all rookies, Lonzo had some struggles in his rookie season. Most notably, Lonzo struggled shooting the ball at times. With his strange shot, Lonzo was bound to have a lot of criticism if he struggled with his shot, and unfortunately, that happened.
Despite receiving a lot of attention on the court and in the media, Lonzo never really seemed to be bothered by any of the noise surrounding him. On the court, Ball was able to focus on basketball and block all of the noise.
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This offseason, Lonzo is already working very hard in the weight room to add some strength, which will only help him improve in his sophomore season. Since Lonzo was a high draft pick and has a very outspoken father, the pressure may never come off him. However, he seems like he is well-prepared to deal with anything that comes his way.