Lonzo Ball is currently having the best season of his young career with the New Orleans Pelicans after getting traded by the Los Angeles Lakers over the summer. Considering his improved play, that the 6-foot-6 point guard is now being considered by some as a legitimate contender for this season's Most Improved Player of the Year award.
Ball acknowledged that being in the conversation for MIP is an honor for him, but at the end of the day, he is still focused on how he can help the Pelicans win.
“It’s nice to be in the convo, but I really just want to win,” Lonzo Ball said, via Pelicans.com “I’m happy that we started turning the season around towards the end to put ourselves in the position to at least have a chance at the playoffs, and that’s really all I care about.”
Prior to the 2019-20 season being suspended due to COVID-19, Ball was averaging a career-best 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals. He has also been shooting particularly well, knocking down 41.2 percent of his shots overall and 38.3 percent from deep.
Zo has been a critical part of the Pelicans' lineup, and his impressive playmaking and connection with rookie Zion Williamson has propelled the team to a possible playoff contention.
The Pelicans entered the hiatus with a 28-36 record, 3.5 games behind the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. Making the playoffs is not going to be an easy task by any means, but the mere fact that New Orleans was invited to take part in the restart in Disney World means that they have a real chance of cracking the postseason.