Being the son of a Hall of Fame player-turned-broadcaster like Bill Walton was a blessing and a curse for Luke Walton, who quickly found that out firsthand during his rookie season. The current Los Angeles Lakers head coach entered the NBA in 2003 playing for a loaded Lakers team which had acquired Hall of Famers Gary Payton and Karl Malone to play alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
As Matthew Moreno of Lakers Nation notes, Walton recalled how Kobe and the rest of those superstars told him his life would be a “living hell” in large part because of his dad.
“Back then, rookies had to go to training camp earlier. So, Kobe and all the vets we had on that team showed up about four days later, and looked at me and told me my life was going to be a living hell, because of what my dad had said about each and every one of them.
“I was really excited to meet Kobe and the other vets, and that quickly changed. From Kobe to Karl Malone to Shaq, they sat me down at a table and told me life was going to be hell for me. That was my first experience.”
Whatever “hell” Luke Walton experienced in his rookie year, he learned from it to become a capable rotation player alongside Kobe Bryant for the Lakers.
It’s interesting to learn about Walton’s harrowing rookie experience, especially since his star greenhorn Lonzo Ball also has an outspoken father. While there aren’t too many intimidating veterans on the Lakers, Ball has likely gone through similar moments of getting picked on by virtue of being LaVar Ball’s son.
With similar experiences in his back pocket, Walton should be able to help Ball overcome those types of challenges and mature into the player the Lakers expect him to be.
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