Following the loss to the Utah Jazz over the weekend, rookie point guard Lonzo Ball made sure he took all of the blame for the team's shortcomings on the road. Ball insisted the loss was on him making it clear that the finger needed to be pointed in his direction.
After the Lakers' first practice since the loss to the Jazz, Ball gave his reasoning for why the loss should rest on his shoulders.
“That's how I was brought up,” Ball said of taking the blame. “I'm not going to change…It's a team game. Obviously, we win and lose as a team, but I like to take the blame when we lose.”
Ball credits LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers for helping him instill that kind of leadership quality in terms of taking the blame when the team doesn't accomplish their goal on the basketball floor.
“Well, my favorite player growing up was LeBron [James],” Ball said. “He still plays the same way to this day. He always takes it.”
As a rookie, Ball is already embracing the leadership role on the Lakers. A leader is something Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka were looking for in the 2017 NBA Draft, and so far it appears they have found their man.
Although Ball has struggled at times during the first six games of his rookie campaign, the 20-year-old is saying all the right things while also having his teammates rally around him early on in the process of rebuilding this team. Whether Ball's leadership skills result in wins and ultimately turning around this franchise, only time will tell, but at this point, he seems to be headed on the right path with the right mindset moving forward.
Ball and company will get back to work on Tuesday with the Lakers set to host the red-hot Detroit Pistons at the Staples Center. The team will then go on the road to take on Damian Lillard's Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday before returning for a highly anticipated matchup against former Laker D'Angelo Russell and the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
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