Los Angeles Lakers: Lonzo Ball is still the best sophomore point guard

In the eyes of many, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball fell far below expectations in his rookie season. However, Ball is still the best among his peers.

The Los Angeles Lakers drafted point guard Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Ball was the second point guard taken in a draft that was filled with promising point guard talent. Five point guards were taken within the first 10 picks of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Ball was taken one selection behind Markelle Fultz, who missed nearly the entire season with the Philadelphia 76ers due to health concerns. Even though Fultz rarely saw the court and seemingly lost his mechanics to shoot the basketball, Ball was often still targeted as the rookie point guard to fall below expectations.

A lot of that has to do with the massive hype that followed Ball into the league. Ball was great at the college level with UCLA and his father, LaVar Ball, made the most preposterous claims (which you have probably heard).

It is fair to criticize especially considering what LaVar was saying as his son headed into the league. And while Ball may not be an elite scorer like today’s “great” point guards are, he still offers so much to the Lakers that make him the best among his peers.

And no, we are not counting Ben Simmons as a sophomore point guard. He was drafted the year prior; we are comparing Ball to his 2017 draftmates.

Here are our three reasons why Lonzo Ball is still the best sophomore point guard in the NBA.