Former Los Angeles Lakers young star Brandon Ingram is finally thriving with the Toronto Raptors after escaping the New Orleans Pelicans. Ingram was a casualty of the Anthony Davis trade, which eventually brought the Lakers a championship, but he never accomplished much in New Orleans.
He made his first All-Star Game with the Pelicans, but after just two playoff appearances in New Orleans, he was traded last year. The Pelicans were never really healthy enough to make a real run, and they never found a way to build a good enough team to compete in spite of the injuries. It was a mess.
But now, with the Raptors, he has a real chance to make some noise.
Brandon Ingram is thriving in a winning situation for the first time in years
Ingram’s tenure with the Lakers was short. He only spent three seasons in LA after being the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. That’s 10 years ago, but it feels like he was in a Lakers jersey a lifetime ago. Luke Walton was his head coach.
He played well with the Lakers. His leap in his sophomore season was noticeable, and he got even better in his third NBA season. But with LeBron James in town, the Lakers had bigger dreams.
Once the Davis trade went down, the Pelicans effectively added the Lakers’ young core. And Ingram was the star of the show. As mentioned, he was an All-Star in New Orleans, but the Pelicans didn’t exactly have a foolproof plan to build a contender in the West.
The Ingram era in New Orleans fell apart pretty quickly, and now, the Pelicans are one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. But he escaped before that happened.
New Orleans traded him to the Raptors last season, and he made his debut this year. He made the All-Star Game for the first time since 2020, and the Raptors are in a good position to make the playoffs.
Toronto hasn’t made the postseason since 2022, when Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet were running the show. But with Ingram and Scottie Barnes leading the way, they’re on the up again.
The East is as wide-open as ever, and Ingram is doing everything he can to help push Toronto forward. They may not be favorites in the East, but they’re certainly in the mix.
Despite the Raptors losing, Ingram just posted his latest monster stat line against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. He ended the night with 31 points, two rebounds, and four assists while shooting 11-of-20 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep.
For the first time in years, Ingram is thriving in a winning situation.