Lakers: How will Ball’s rookie year stack against all-time Laker greats?

Magic Johnson, the guy that Lonzo’s father, LaVar, often compares his son to. Johnson has an everlasting effect on the city of Los Angeles that extends much further than his time on the court as a Laker. Now, as the President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers, a partial owner of the Dodgers and the Sparks, Johnson still has his hands in the LA honey pot.

Johnson can do this because he is one of the most beloved athletes to ever play any sport in the city of Los Angeles. If his career was not cut short due to HIV, Johnson very well could have gone down as the greatest player of all-time at the time of his retirement.

While Michael Jordan certainly would have challenged that, we have no idea the numbers he could have put up in the prime years that he missed.

Fast forward back to Lonzo Ball. Some people, his father included, think that Ball can become this star point guard for the Lakers that has the same effect on the stagnant team as Johnson had in the ’80s. While it may seem absurd to even utter that phrase now, even if Ball can bring a star to LA next season then his impact is already tremendous.

If the Lakers’ rookie has the kind of season that we mentioned in the previous slide, perhaps he could even challenge Johnson for the number two spot on this list. While it will be hard because Johnson is a better rebounder and scorer, both men possess insane playmaking ability that truly is once in a generation.