We Should Be Rooting for Lonzo Ball To Succeed

As a Freshmen in college last season, Lonzo Ball averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game. In addition, he was 41.2% from 3-point range and shot over 55% from the floor.

Those stats earned him a first-team All-American, and he was one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award for the best point guard in America.

Lonzo’s stellar play continued into the NBA summer league. This summer, Lonzo scored 16.3 points, 9.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He was awarded the summer league MVP.

Any normal fan who takes a look at a 19-year-old kid with those numbers would say that this player is going to be special.

However, that is not the collective dialogue for Lonzo Ball this NBA offseason.

This offseason, all people care about is the latest drama in the new Kardashian-like family of the sports world.

The Ball family leads the news headlines. People care about how many points Lamelo Ball scored in his last high school game. The media wants to know if Lavar will stand by his latest ridiculous comment.

People simply cannot get enough of this family, and you have to feel bad for Lonzo. 

Lonzo appears like a quiet, yet confident, mature young man. At only 19 years old, he has grown up with a father who constantly needs to be the center of attention. His father is clearly obsessed with the spotlight and is obviously very focused on keeping his family in the center of the sports media sphere.

One of the many absurd comments made by Lavar was when he stated that his son was better than Steph Curry.

This comment, along with many others, has made many NBA fans root for the failure of Lonzo Ball simply to shut up his father.

When Lonzo had a tough summer league debut, people were roasting him on twitter.

Why?

Because everyone is sick of his father, and the only way to get back at his father is to insult his kid.

Here is a piece of advice to the NBA fan: Don’t let yourself fall into Lavar Ball’s trap. If you do, you will not be able to fully appreciate the game of Lonzo Ball.

Instead, focus on Lonzo. You will like what you see.

Lonzo Ball’s Game

The first thing to notice: This kid is long. I mean, really long.

He has a 6-foot-nine wingspan!

Remember, this is a point guard. Some people have compared Lonzo Ball to the likes of Magic Johnson.

He is that special.

Not only is he long, but he has superb athleticism. Last season, on fast breaks, his teammates would throw him alley-oops, where he would often finish with a one-handed slam.

He also has NBA “Jimmer” type range. Although he has an unorthodox shot, with his release coming from the side, it is also a smooth, pretty, Durant-like release.

Not only can he drain from beyond the arc, but he can also drive to the hoop, and finish in traffic. He has great individual moves, while at the same time, keeping his head up when he has the ball, just like Magic.

His vision of the floor is fantastic.

If you actually watch Lonzo play and forget about his father, he is a kid that is worth watching.

Just ask his former coach from UCLA, Steve Alford. Coach Alford said on “The Sidelines Podcast” that Lonzo “understands how to win.”

“He figures out before the game or during the game what he’s got to do to win,” Alford said.

Just ask his former UCLA teammates, who told the Los Angeles Times that he always had great energy in the locker room.

“He gets us one last little fired up right before we start each game,” former UCLA starting guard Bryce Alford said.

Bryce Alford also told Bill Oram of Southern California News Group that Lonzo “gets a rep he doesn’t deserve.”

“He does get a persona that’s just totally not him,” Alford said. “He’s an absolutely great kid, a great teammate and truly cares about what his teammates are doing more so than himself.”

Not only will your eyes stay glued to Lonzo when he plays, but you will find yourself rooting for him to succeed.

And you should.

An athlete that is willing to do whatever it takes to win and really cares about his teammates is an athlete we should all hope succeeds.

Lonzo should not be held to a higher scrutiny because of his father’s need to promote the family brand.

Lonzo should not be criticized because his father was thrown out of an AAU game or because his father decided to sell his shoes at an insane price.

Rather, we should be focusing on Lonzo because he was the number two overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers and could be the next Magic Johnson.

The expectations should be high for Lonzo Ball. But we shouldn’t be watching to see him fail this season.

Quite the opposite.

We should be rooting for him to succeed.