Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball is currently sidelined with an MCL sprain, but while he hasn’t been quite as good this season as his father LaVar Ball predicted he’d be, the rookie has still been solid when he’s able to get on the floor.
Lonzo is averaging 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and a team-high 7.1 assists per game over 36 appearances. The Lakers have been far better with him on the floor than when he sits, getting outscored by 1.1 points per 100 possessions with the rookie on the floor compared to four points when he sits.
It’s the second-largest disparity on the team behind Jordan Clarkson. That effectiveness is a result of a level of NBA readiness most rookies can’t touch.
During an appearance on Kevin Hart’s “Cold as Balls” web series that was filmed before the season, LaVar correctly predicted that his son would do just fine in the spotlight playing for the Lakers creates for players:
“You can’t get to this level all of a sudden and be a superstar. You’ve got to be a superstar when you’re this little (holds hand barely above ground). Lonzo has been a superstar all his life, so this is nothing new. How do you handle L.A.? How does L.A. handle us? We’ve been like this all the time.”
This might just be another instance of LaVar speaking something into existence, or it could just be common sense.
Yes, Lonzo has struggled at times like all first-year players do, but he also has had hype follow him at every level. So it’s hardly surprising he hasn’t seemed remotely phased by the media spotlight in L.A.
In this way, all of LaVar’s braggadocio may have aided Lonzo because of the attention and target it put on him from a young age to back it up, something he’s mostly done so far in the NBA.
And as usual with things involving Lonzo, his father called it.
Produced by OBB Pictures, “Cold as Balls” is available on Kevin Hart’s and Lionsgate’s Laugh Out Loud Network.
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