The Curious Case of Lonzo Ball
By: Peyton Schultze
From a future NBA All-Star to a borderline bust in the 2017 NBA Draft, Lakers’ point guard, Lonzo Ball, has been called a number of things in his young career.
March 24th, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. In an anticipated matchup between the #3 UCLA Bruins and the #2 Kentucky Wildcats, Bruins guard Lonzo Ball was about to take the stage of the NCAA Tournament to show off his highly talented skill set. With the outspoken Ball father guaranteeing that UCLA would get past Kentucky to move into the Elite 8, all the pressure was on Ball and the Bruins. Until it wasn’t. UCLA was completely outplayed by Kentucky throughout the Southern Region semifinal and Wildcat point guard, De’Aaron Fox, put on a show with 39 points and 4 assists, in 36 minutes. Outplaying Ball would be an understatement. Lonzo was able to only compile 10 points and 3 rebounds while struggling on defense against Fox, finishing the Bruins season and Ball’s time in college.
Flash forward a couple of months later to the 2017 NBA Draft. Even after being outplayed in the tournament by Fox and with other players like Jayson Tatum generating hype to be drafted early before him, Lonzo Ball was drafted with the 2nd pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. Say what you will about his draft status so early. Maybe it was his father's antics that hyped Ball up to be drafted so early. Maybe it was Lonzo’s elite court vision shown throughout his time at UCLA with players like TJ Leaf and Aaron Holiday. Or maybe, even, it was flashes of pure basketball greatness at UCLA that made him such a highly touted NBA prospect, like this second half performance vs Oregon in regular season Pac-12 play:
Whatever the case may be, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka were tempted enough to select Ball to suit up with the Purple and Gold in their first draft as a tandem together. And what has transpired since has been nothing short of simple, unanswered questions. After a strange rookie year that clearly exposed Ball’s biggest weakness in his quirky jumpshot, Ball has been improved this year (35% from 3 this year, from 30% last year), yet has not had that one breakout performance that the Lakers’ front office so desperately wants to see. With the addition of LeBron James in the offseason, the Lakers are looking at which of their young players they will look to build around James. Ball has huge potential to become the star the Lakers hope for. He can fill up the box score on a nightly basis. He does not need to score the ball to impact the game. He has a mentor on the team in Rajon Rondo that seems to have improved his leadership skills. He even had bulked up from the past season, fitting in much better of what is required out of the modern NBA player’s body. Yet Ball still hasn’t found his moment in a Laker uniform. Whether that will come soon remains to be seen, but as the Lakers near Christmas, they hope Lonzo gives the team a huge gift in the form of a few marquee performances to show he belongs in Los Angeles.
Lonzo Ball has shown an improvment in his game this year, but still needs to find that extra gear to help the Lakers become a contender with the offseason addition of James.
Ball may not have huge numbers in the box score that show his improvement, but coaches in the organization and fans have noticed his uptick in production. One thing that is clear for Ball: he is an elite defender that ranks among the best defending point guards in the league already at his young age. He has had numerous instances of big time plays on the defensive side of the floor, including highlights against the Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic. But what has been missing so much in his game over the past two years is his inconsistent aggressiveness. Ball has been hesitant to shoot sometimes and seems to always be looking to make another pass. Yet he has passed up many open looks and the Lakers want him to shoot shot that he can take and certainly make if he has the confidence. Just take this quote from last week from LeBron James:
“Sometime he doesn’t realize how great he is and the things he possesses out on the floor.”
From Magic Johnson to LeBron James, the Lakers all want Lonzo Ball to become a great player. Whether that is to prove his draft status to everyone else or to solidify his father’s claims is questionable, but the front office is hopeful for his future. On this recent tear by the Lakers, Ball has started every game and has helped in a combined 8-4 in their last 12 games. Yet at times, coach Luke Walton has not always given Ball the minutes he would want. In fact, in games where Lonzo has played 30+ minutes in a game, the Lakers are 5-1. When he doesn’t? The Lakers are 6-7. Walton owns the tough task of coaching a top market team like the Lakers and has daily challenges with the media from being asked topics like LeBron, Magic, and Ball. He has earned the right to keep his job and is still an emerging young coach in the league. However, he must find a way to keep Ball’s aggressiveness up on a daily basis, get him his shots, and play him for 30 or more minutes a game if the Lakers want to develop Ball the way they would like. The future of the Laker franchise is unclear for now. But they still have the best basketball player in the world in James, and have a fresh crop of young and exciting players with high potential. None of those players may be more important to the future success of the Lakers than Ball. If the Lakers hope to return to the promised land for their league tying 17th NBA championship, they will need Lonzo Ball to become a consistent and very good NBA player, that was drafted high for a reason, to fit alongside James in their quest for a title. If he is unable to do so? Ball and the Laker front office will face tough decisions for the future direction of the franchise.