During the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers has made quite an impression. The rookie point guard has already become the star attraction for the storied franchise as he’s put on a show on a nightly basis at the Thomas & Mack Center, but the real question moving forward is what is the ceiling for this 19-year-old phenom.
ESPN analyst and former player, Mark Jackson, recently gave his thoughts about Ball and his potential for greatness on the NBA level. Jackson believes the Hall of Fame could be in the kid’s future, but surpassing Magic Johnson’s talent level and impact is another story altogether, via Chris Palmer:
Mark Jackson on Lonzo Ball: "He can be a Hall-of-Famer but I'll tell you right now he will not be better than Magic Johnson."
— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) July 16, 2017
During Magic’s career with the Lakers, he led the franchise to five NBA titles while playing alongside and elevating stars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. The Lakers dominated the 80s with Johnson being the undisputed leader in the Showtime era creating a fast-paced and pass-first style of basketball that was a nightmare for opposing teams to defend.
Ball, who at 6’6″ is another tall and talented point guard, shares a lot of on-court characteristics in comparison to Magic. Lonzo has incredible court vision like the current president of basketball operations and can make an impact in all aspects of the game with a versatile skill set.
At this point, Ball appears to have been the right choice for the Lakers at No. 2 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. He checks all the boxes and has lived up to the hype during his Summer League stint leading many believe a bright future lies ahead for both the player and the franchise which so desperately needs to turn things around with Johnson at the helm.