While the Los Angeles Lakers heavily leaned on rookies and second or third-year players over recent seasons, matters have changed some with the signing of LeBron James, Rajon Rondo and veterans to fill out the roster.
Last year’s Lakers draft class — Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma — remain prominent members of head coach Luke Walton’s rotation. But 2018 selections Moritz Wagner, Svi Mykhailiuk and Isaac Bonga have not been afforded the same opportunities.
Mykhailiuk did see an increase in playing time while Rondo was recovering from hand surgery, and figures to be in the same position now that he’s expected to miss at least one month after an operation to repair a torn ligament in his Grade 3 sprained right ring finger.
With an off-day sandwiched between games, the Lakers assigned Mykhailiuk to the G League so he could suit up Saturday for their South Bay affiliate. He made the most of it, scoring 47 points to set a G League season-high.
Svi put the @NBAGLeague on notice.
47 points (16-23 FG, 10-11 FT) ????@Sviat_10 aka #Svisus pic.twitter.com/VSKVPfp3Gw
— South Bay Lakers (@SouthBayLakers) December 30, 2018
Mykhailiuk’s performance caught the attention of James, leading to an exchange between the teammates on social media.
????????♂️ https://t.co/IRkcir5Gvt
— Svi Mykhailiuk (@Sviat_10) December 30, 2018
This wasn’t the first time Mykhailiuk shined while playing for South Bay. Last month, he made seven 3-pointers, though only scored 29 points.
Saturday’s action was the first extended run of any time for Mykhailiuk, as he’s only logged a combined nine minutes while appearing in three of the Lakers’ last six games.
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