Los Angeles Lakers: Each starters’ Mamba Mentality challenge
By Jason Reed
Lonzo Ball: Win the Rookie of the Year
Quite frankly, anything less from Lonzo Ball may leave a lot of Laker fans disappointed. The Los Angeles Lakers put their necks on the line for Ball. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka traded former second overall pick D’Angelo Russell to free cap space and make room for Ball. Now, if Ball comes out of the gate and plays any worse than Russell, a lot of Laker fans will be scratching their heads.
However, Ball does have all the tools to take home the honors and should be the favorite heading into the opening tip. Dennis Smith Jr, Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons all pose as threats to Ball’s path to the award. De’Aaron Fox, Jayson Tatum and Josh Jackson all can find their way in Rookie of the Year talks as well. At the end of the day, this rookie class is as strong as it has been in a long time.
Ball still stands to be the rookie that can make the biggest impact from year one. Because of his pass-first offense, Ball will heavily be included in the Lakers offense and could average a double-double in his first NBA season. While he may not score much at the NBA level early, he did show fans that he could drop more than 30 in the NBA Summer League.
The biggest factor in Ball’s success is going to be how his quirky shot translates to the NBA level of play. If Ball can’t score, defenders are going to give him space and pick apart his passes. However, if Ball can prove that he can at least pose a threat scoring the basketball, we will see him win the Rookie of the Year, convincingly.