Magic Johnson has some high expectations for Lonzo Ball.
Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports
The Lakers great doesn’t think Ball’s early success will stop in the Las Vegas Summer League, where Ball was named MVP and averaged 16.3 points, 9.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.5 steals. Even more impressive was that Ball had two triple-doubles and had four games of 10 or more assists. Previous to this summer, no other rookie had ever recorded a triple-double or had more than one game of 10 assists in a single tournament.
“You can see that. If he’s getting triple-doubles in the summer league, he is going to get triple-doubles in the regular season,” Johnson said. “Just like me, when I got here, there was pressure. I was the No. 1 pick [in 1979]. I didn’t care about that. I am going to play my game. Lonzo is going to play his game. The great ones do.”
Johnson went on to praise how unique Ball is.
“Lonzo is special, no question about it, because he makes everyone better,” Johnson said. “He does something you can’t teach. He gives you a scoring pass. Very few point guards in this league can do that. I am talking about giving you a pass that leads to the score, not just passing it to you.”
Although I find Ball talented, I haven’t really, fully jumped on his bandwagon just yet. However, I will agree with Magic that there is something special about him. I did catch myself tuning into UCLA games last season and I’m not a Bruins fan. I do think that he’ll notch a few triple-doubles this year. I’ll probably end up tuning into some Lakers games this year too to witness how he’ll be leading the team. Something I think D’Angelo Russell couldn’t seem to do.
H/T: ESPN
