Bleacher Report recently named players that could take over as the face of their teams. Who from the Los Angeles Lakers did they select?
After the retirement of Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers have been seeking a new face of their franchise. This offseason, the Lakers were able to find one, as they signed LeBron James to a four-year contract.
As one of the best players in the NBA, James instantly makes the Lakers a contender once again. Also, he becomes their new face of the franchise. While signing James was a great move for the Lakers, he won’t be around forever.
Even though he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet, James is 34-years-old and has a lot of miles on his legs. Playing in the NBA Finals for eight straight seasons has resulted in a lot of extra games played for James, and that will catch up with him eventually.
Recently, Bleacher Report named Lonzo Ball as the player in waiting to be the face of the franchise.
While Ball’s shooting numbers were not good in his rookie season, he did everything else very well for the Lakers. As a rookie point guard, Ball was able to control the pace of the game as a floor general, which some veteran point guards don’t even do as well as him.
With his great size for the position, Ball was a strong rebounder and defender, as he figures to be capable of getting a triple-double any night as he continues to develop. Even though he still has a lot of room to improve as a player, Ball has shown an ability to handle pressure really well.
As the face of the Lakers, that comes with a lot of pressure and potential for criticism. Ball has no problem dealing with any of those things, which is remarkable considering his age. Even though the Lakers have a few other players that might make a claim to be the face of the franchise after LeBron, Lonzo certainly has the potential to do so.