On Saturday, Lonzo Ball did something historic. The Los Angeles Lakers rookie became the youngest player ever to record a triple-double, surpassing LeBron James by only five days.
Ball, a rookie point guard out of UCLA, had mostly struggled in his first year in the NBA. While he has flashed numerous skills, his lack of shooting ability to this point has majorly limited his impact on games. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, however, Ball had a complete game despite the Lakers not being able to finish the game out with a win.
The performance turned heads around the league, including that of the guy whose record Lonzo broke. LeBron James was asked about Ball’s performance and was nothing but complimentary of the 19-year-old.
Following via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“I definitely think back to when I was that young,” James said Monday. “There’s not many games that I can remember when I was 20 years old or 19 or even 18. So first of all, congratulations to him. I think he’s going to be a really, really good point guard in our league, probably a great point guard if he continues to work on his craft, which it seems like he does. They got a good one.”
LeBron is expected to be a free agent this summer and as always, the Lakers have been a rumored destination for the star whose time in Cleveland for the second time may be coming to an end. Working against the Lakers is their youth and relatively low level of play for an all-time great who is still looking to win at the highest level.
But Lonzo Ball has caught James’ eye – LeBron also attended one of the Lakers’ Summer League games in July presumably to watch the hyped-up prospect. It may not mean much and it definitely doesn’t guarantee the Lakers signing James. However, it’s a strong audition for a player who the Lakers are desperate to sign in 2018.
