Dwyane Wade Praises Lonzo Ball After Rookie Impresses in Lakers Win vs. Heat

Lonzo Ball did a little bit of everything during the Los Angeles Lakers' 131-113 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday and caught Dwyane Wade's eye in the process.

Ball posted eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and six steals while hitting three of his five field-goal attempts and two of his three three-pointers, prompting this response from Wade, per Lakers reporter Mike Trudell:

"I have been a big fan of him. I watched him play in college. He has a great feel of the game and he doesn't play for statistics. He plays to win. He moves the ball and his IQ of the game is incredible. He is athletic. Everyone talks about his shot, but he has been shooting that way his whole life. He can knock shots down. He is good man, he is a good basketball player.

"Everyone expects him to come in and be Kobe Bryant, but Kobe Bryant wasn't Kobe Bryant when he came in. He had to work to it. So he has a long career, hopefully, in front of him and we will see how it shakes out."

Lonzo Ball dials from long distance

The Bryant comparisons immediately jump out, especially since the Lakers haven't made the playoffs since the 2012-13 campaign and are looking for the next franchise cornerstone to lead them back to postseason relevance.

Ball figures to be a natural candidate as the No. 2 overall pick out of UCLA, and he has shown flashes of a bright future as a rookie. As of Thursday, he was averaging 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks per game despite shooting just 36.3 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from three-point range.

By comparison, Bryant played 71 games as a rookie and averaged 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.7 steals a night.

It should be noted Bryant developed into one of the best players in league history and amassed a head-turning resume as a five-time champion, the 2007-08 MVP, a two-time scoring champion, an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, a 12-time All-Defensive selection and a two-time NBA Finals MVP, so Ball has plenty of work to do to even be in similar discussions.

Still, he is part of a promising young core alongside Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram and has demonstrated the ability to impact the game in a number of ways beyond just pouring in points, as Wade noted.

If he continues to develop—and the Lakers perhaps add an impact piece or two in free agency during the upcoming offseason—Ball will be a critical part of the next playoff team in Los Angeles.