Los Angeles Lakers: Three reasons why Lonzo Ball is better than you think

4 of 4

(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. Compared to his peers, Lonzo Ball is all the more impressive

Again, Lonzo Ball is judged in some sort of vacuum that does not make sense, at least to me. It does not matter how the rest of the rookies perform in the league. If Ball was not the Rookie of the Year he seemed destined to fail in winning over Laker fans.

More from LA Sports Hub

Perhaps part of this is due to the great rookie season that Kyle Kuzma had despite being the 27th overall pick in the draft. Kuzma definitely did steal the spotlight from Lonzo and is one of few rookies to outperform him.

Just look at the rest of the draft class that was selected in the lottery. Tons of guards were selected, yet Lonzo Ball still stands out head and shoulders above the rest.

Donovan Mitchell, Dennis Smith Jr. and De’Aaron Fox were the only other lottery guards to score more than 10 points per game like Ball did. However, while Mitchell shined, neither Smith or Fox had the same impact on their respective teams as Ball did on the Lakers.

Heck, just look at the homegrown rookies and compare their seasons to Ball. Brandon Ingram is easily the highest touted young talent and his rookie year falls short to Ball’s. Ingram averaged fewer points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks than Ball. He shot just one percent better from the floor.

Yet still, Ingram is the beloved one after posting a pretty decent sophomore year. Ball is yet to play in his sophomore, where he is likely set to make drastic improvements.

Next: Top 30 players in Lakers' history

Lonzo Ball was a rookie last season and many people forgot that. 10.2 points, 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds is pretty good for a rookie, wouldn’t you say?

Home/Los Angeles Lakers