Rookie Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers has made quite an impression during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He has lived up to the hype and has, for the moment, hushed critics with some incredible performances in the games he played at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Ball was rewarded for his efforts on Monday before the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Portland Trail Blazers in the championship game in Las Vegas by being named NBA Summer League MVP, according to Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet:
Lonzo Ball was selected the NBA Summer League MVP. Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma was selected to the All-Summer League second team.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) July 18, 2017
Along with being the first player to record not one but two triple-doubles in Summer League, Ball put on a show every single night in a Lakers uniform. Lonzo’s impact was felt all over the floor and his pass-first mentality quickly became contagious with teammates like Kyle Kuzma also showing their potential.
Ball was the first Lakers player to win the MVP award in Summer League play, according to Bresnahan:
Lakers never had a summer-league MVP until Ball. Derrick Character was their last player to be an All-Summer League pick (2nd team, 2010).
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) July 18, 2017
The former UCLA star averaged 16.3 points, 9.3 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game during his first Summer League stint with the Lakers.
Kuzma’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed with the forward earning All-NBA Summer League Second Team honors, according to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Kyle Kuzma makes All-NBA Summer League Second Team
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 18, 2017
Ball, of course, was named the All-Summer League First Team along with Dallas’ Dennis Smith Jr., Phoenix’s Josh Jackson, Portland’s Caleb Swanigan, and Atlanta’s John Collins.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, Ball won’t be playing on Monday in the Summer League championship game due to a calf strain. Alex Caruso will start in his place in the team’s final game in Las Vegas this summer.