After barely making it to Sports Illustrated's Top 100 NBA players, ESPN has ranked Los Angeles Lakers sophomore point guard Lonzo Ball at No. 62, way higher than the 100th spot he got with SI.
Here's ESPN's take on why and how Ball will be one of the top point guards in the league this upcoming season.
The self-proclaimed biggest summer of Ball's life was shortened by a left meniscus injury that eventually required surgery in mid-July. Upon his recovery, though, Ball seemingly went to work tweaking his form after shooting 30.5 percent from 3 in his rookie season.
It remains to be seen whom coach Luke Walton starts at point guard, but Ball will be challenged — and, on hopes, mentored — by Rajon Rondo. Ball's strengths — playmaking, rebounding and defensive length — should only be enhanced by LeBron James' presence.
His father, Lavar Ball's off-court antics have overshadowed the 20-year-old's impressive performance last season. Despite all the publicity that his family has been involved in, Lonzo has surprisingly been mature in handling these off-court issues and has quietly put up brilliant all-around averages of 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
It remains to be seen how Ball's left knee injury will affect his performance in his sophomore season. But Rob Pelinka, the team's general manager, had huge praises on how Ball has worked on putting more heft to his body, per Lloyd Johnson of the Express.
“But just the way he stayed dedicated to reshaping his body and making sure that if he’s playing against a really strong point guard like a Russell Westbrook, who’s gonna come at him with his aggressive nature and give him a bump.”
“Lonzo will be able to take it or even bump him back. You’ll see that in his physique.”
Critics and fans are predicting that Ball's numbers will take a step back with veteran playmakers LeBron James and Rajon Rondo handling the rock at most times. Still, Ball has shown glimpses of being a solid defender with a knack at being effective in off-ball situations. The daily lessons he will learn from James and Rondo will no doubt be his building blocks going forward.
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