There was a special guest at Staples Center to watch the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Basketball Hall of Famer and former Arizona head coach Lute Olson was in the stands as he got to watch his former player Luke Walton lead the Lakers as head coach.
One player who put on a show with Olson in the house was rookie Brandon Ingram who had one of his best games of the year. In fact, Walton believed there were times Ingram was the best player on the floor for either team.
After the game, Olson visited Walton in the locker room and immediately spoke highly of Ingram according to Bill Oram of the OC Register:
First thing Lute Olson told Luke Walton last night was, "Wow, that Brandon Ingram kid is going to be pretty special."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) January 21, 2017
Olson has been around the game for a long time and has coached plenty of NBA talent so for him to recognize Ingram’s talent says a lot. Unfortunately for Ingram, his age showed as the 19-year old actually had no clue who Olson was.
In fairness to Ingram, much of Olson’s major accomplishments came before Ingram was born, including Olson’s National Championship which occurred just months before Ingram was born in 1997. Ingram did say he would look Olson up.
Nonetheless, Ingram’s talent and potential is clear to anyone who watches him and he is starting to become more consistent with his performances on the floor.