Los Angeles Lakers: Everything You Need to Know About Lonzo Ball
LaVar Ball, father of Los Angeles Lakers draftee Lonzo Ball, might feel he spoke his son's selection into existence, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke it into official record.
"With the second pick in the 2017 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select Lonzo Ball," Silver said last Thursday.
That sentence danced around the heads of Lakers Nation long before the words were ever uttered. The 6'6" point guard out of UCLA had been linked to his hometown team for months. Once the franchise caught a bit of lottery luck, the rest became a formality.
So, what should Hollywood expect from its new leading actor? Well, a boisterous father, for starters, but contrary to the amount of media attention he receives, this pick is all about the player—not the trunk of his family tree.
As Lonzo Ball prepares to make his big league transition, we've started our own preparation by compiling everything Lakers fans need to know about their newest prospect.
He Was Born to Be a Laker
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When the Lakers went on the clock, it was less a matter of drafting than a moment of destiny. From his larger-than-life father and flashy game to his Southern California roots—born in Anaheim, preps in Chino Hills, college at UCLA—Ball may as well have bled purple and gold.
"I'm truly blessed to be able to play for my hometown," Ball said, per ESPN.com's Ian O'Connor, "and I can't wait to get on the court."
This is Ball's calling.
Born to a pair of college hoopers, Lonzo started playing the sport at two years old. He capped his Chino Hills career with Naismith Prep Player of the Year honors while averaging a triple-double and leading his team—alongside his UCLA-bound brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo—to a perfect 35-0 record and a No. 1 national ranking.
Ball doesn't run from the pressure created by his father's boasts; he embraces it. That same mindset will be critical in his attempt to lead the Lakers out of their worst four-year stretch in franchise history.
His Signature Shoes Are from His Family's Brand
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For top NBA draft picks, national shoe deals are rites of passage. At least, they were before Ball and his family's Big Baller Brand came around.
The Balls are looking to break the endorsement mold. When talks with the national shoe companies to partner on marketing and distribution didn't produce an agreement, the Balls pressed forward on their own.
Their initial offering is almost unprecedented—Lonzo's signature kicks, the ZO2, sell for $495 and up. You did read that right, four hundred ninety-five dollars. That's a car payment and then some if you're pushing anything less than a luxurious whip (which, I guess, may not qualify you as a Big Baller).
Sticker shock aside, it's a fascinating undertaking. If Ball can successfully cut out the middle man and reap the profits for himself, he could change the way athletes approach their branding and merchandising. A miscalculation here could cost him millions, but the 19-year-old's decision has pioneering potential.
"Normal's boring," Ball told SLAM Magazine during his first shoe reveal. "At the end of the day, it's up to us, the athletes. We push the culture forward; don't let the culture push us. It's up to us to put forward a movement that empowers not only ourselves but our families and our communities as well."
If He Weren't Playing, He'd Be Rapping
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Don't take our word for it; check out this exchange with Sports Illustrated's Jake Fischer:
Jake Fischer: If you weren't a professional basketball player, what would you do for a career?
Lonzo Ball: I'd be a rapper. I got a lot of tracks; I just ain't dropped them yet, to be honest.
JF: Really? How many do you have?
LB: Enough for a tape. I got a close friend who raps. The only remix we did was the one we put out, to be honest. All of the rest of them are original. I write when I get bored, when I have nothing to do.
Simultaneously shouldering basketball and rap careers feels like the ultimate mic drop for a true Big Baller. But for all who have tried—athletes want to be musicians, musicians want to be athletes—none have mastered the balancing act. That said, Ball doesn't sound out of his element inside the booth.
There isn't the lyrical dexterity of a Damian Lillard, but that's also not the approach. Ball spits more for style than substance, as his not-safe-for-work efforts like this and this display. If your all-time rap rankings start with Lil Wayne and Future, this is the music you should make.
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His Shooting Form Is Funky but Effective
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From the gather to a split-second before the release, Ball's jumper looks like a hoop experiment gone wrong. Even his dad calls it "an ugly-ass form," per Sam Vecenie of Vice Sports.
This breakdown from Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post suggests that description might be kind.
"Ball, a right-handed shooter, begins his jumper with the ball on the left side of his body, like he is reaching into an invisible messenger bag slung over his right shoulder and strapped across his chest," Kilgore wrote. "The ball crosses his face and starts its arc to the rim with a flick, wrist and elbow jutting in opposite directions."
But unless Ball is rushed, he corrects in time to send the shot out with optimal arc, rotation and follow-through. And despite the elongated gather, ESPN's Sports Science found Ball's release to be only .02 seconds slower than that of Golden State Warriors sniper Klay Thompson.
It's hard to worry too much about Ball's form when he hit 41.2 percent of his college threes—many from NBA range—and 46.2 percent of his two-point jumpers, per Hoop-Math. He might never be a pull-up threat going to his right, but he could be lethal to his left and spotting up off the ball.
His Game Will Look Familiar to Lakers Fans
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Player comparisons across different NBA eras often fall somewhere between wonky and worthless. But when a Hall of Famer says he sees elements of himself in a younger player, it's hard to dismiss the analysis completely.
"When [Lakers president of basketball operations Magic] Johnson watched games of Ball live and on video, he saw visions of himself and former All-Star point guard Jason Kidd," Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News wrote.
Does that mean the fanbase should start preparing for Showtime 2.0? No, not before Paul George and LeBron James are part of the program, too. (There's no crime in dreaming, folks.)
But this captures the essence of Ball's abilities. He's a big, pure point guard with the vision and selfless style to elevate his teammates. In his lone collegiate season, he helped transform the Bruins from a 17-loss disaster into a 31-win powerhouse as their offense rocketed from 51st to second in adjusted efficiency, according to kenpom.com.
Like his predecessor-turned-boss, Ball is also a terror in transition. He's a quick thinker and savvy decision-maker who will heave outlet passes ahead of defenses or thread lobs and kick-outs through tiny windows.
If he spots a scoring lane, he'll race through it to the cup. And he's a good enough rebounder (6.0 per game) and ball hawk (1.8 steals) to trigger his own fast-break opportunities.
He's Already Holding the Franchise Keys
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Nothing about the Lakers is understated, so why would their expectations for Ball be any different? During his introduction, Johnson called him "the new face of the Lakers, the guy who I think will lead us back to where we want to get to," per ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes.
Somehow, general manager Rob Pelinka managed to up the ante, per Holmes:
"We feel like Lonzo is a transcendent talent, and Magic and I knew the moment we scouted his game the type of player he was and how he was raised. I think when this really came into focus for us was, we knew the talent was transcendent. The way he passes the ball; you look at quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, that just have a gift. It's clearly a gift with what he's been blessed with."
LaVar couldn't have crafted a better marketing pitch. But seriously, the Lakers are all-in on Lonzo's leading them back to prominence.
Even as a rookie-in-training, his importance is hard to put into non-hyperbolic terms. The franchise has blueprints of what it wants to become, but it's on Ball to put them into practice. If head coach Luke Walton's preferred pace-and-space style materializes, it will be on the strengths of Ball as a ball-mover, fast-break initiator and catch-and-shoot marksman.
Ball can not only simplify the game for his teammates; he can alter the way they play it. If they know they'll be found when open, they'll move around the floor with urgency and purpose. And the more they realize the perks of passing, the more likely it is they'll be selfless distributors themselves.
He's the Early Rookie of the Year Favorite
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Ball's top competition for Rookie of the Year honors comes from a pair of top picks who both play for the Philadelphia 76ers—Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons, the latter of whom missed all of last season with a broken foot.
Still, early oddsmakers like Ball's chances the best. Bovada put him as the favorite at +250 (bet $100 to win $250), per USA Today's AJ Neuharth-Keusch, with Simmons (+300), Fultz (+500), De'Aaron Fox (+700), Jayson Tatum (+900) and Josh Jackson (+900) next in line.
The buzz is deserved. Bleacher Report's Adam Fromal expects Ball to make an immediate impact with a projected per-game stat line of 12.9 points, 8.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
"Much to his father's chagrin, Ball won't lead Los Angeles into the promised land as a rookie. He will, however, factor strongly into the award races while posting impressive numbers across the board," Fromal wrote. "Everything about his game should translate."
With D'Angelo Russell off to the Brooklyn Nets, Ball's path to major minutes is unobstructed. The Lakers are leaning on him to lead, so he'll be granted as many offensive opportunities as he can handle. The potential for award-winning production is clear, even if the possibility of realizing it won't be for some time.
Statistics used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference, unless otherwise noted.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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