Since the Los Angeles Lakers selected former UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick, the organization has sung nothing but praise towards him.
This continued on Friday afternoon during his introductory conference as team president Magic Johnson opened up the event by calling Ball the “next face of the Lakers.”
.@MagicJohnson welcomes in Lonzo Ball as "the new face of the Lakers."
LIVE NOW on NBA TV! pic.twitter.com/fQmxuwAB5N
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 23, 2017
“What a tremendous day it is for the Lakers Nation, the Lakers organization, for Rob and I as well as the Buss Family to welcome the new face of the Lakers. The guy who I think will lead us back to where we want to get to. We want to start building a successful team, and you need to have a great leader and somebody that can make their teammates better. Somebody who has incredible basketball IQ, and somebody who can get their teammates to follow them.We fill like we have that person right here in Lonzo Ball.”
This statement alone shows what type of potential and expectations that Johnson and the Lakers believe the 19-year-old can reach with the team. He has essentially been given the keys to the franchise because of the immense talent he possesses on the court.
Los Angeles has high hopes that he can develop into a superstar player in the NBA while leading the team to a tremendous amount of success. It also erases all doubt on the multiple reports that surfaced before the NBA Draft that stated the Lakers were ‘unsure' on Ball with the #2 pick in the draft.
Ball has shown what he could be capable of in the NBA during his lone season at UCLA — turning the school into an offensive powerhouse once again as the highest scoring team in the nation at 90.4 points per game, while also setting the school single-season record with 274 assists.
He will now have the opportunity to try and replicate that type of success with his hometown team next season with the support and belief of the entire Lakers' organization behind him.
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