Since the Los Angeles Lakers selected Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the team has continued to voice high praise toward the former UCLA point guard.
During Ball's introductory press conference on Friday afternoon, general manager Rob Pelinka made an intriguing analogy about the 19-year-old, comparing him to two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
“In press conferences, I don’t like a lot of hyperbole and a whole bunch of words. I like to tell stories. I think when this really came into focus for us was, we knew the talent was transcendent. The way he passes the ball, you look at quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, that just have a gift. There's clearly a gift, with what he’s been blessed with.”
Although it is a comparison of two entirely different sports, Pelinka is trying to emphasize the special ability passing the ball that the Lakers' newest point guard possesses on the court. This was also his own unique way of stating that Ball is not only a special talent, but also a player that can elevate the play of his teammates around him in a similar fashion to what Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers do for their respective teams.
The comparison to Brady and Rodgers, who are arguably two of the greatest players to ever play in the NFL, puts a much greater level of expectations upon Ball before he even steps on the floor for the first game of his career.
Ultimately, it's clear that the Lakers have high hopes for Ball to develop into a franchise cornerstone player that can lead them to a tremendous amount of success well beyond playoff appearances.
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