Some of the best stories in sports center around hard work, determination, and dreams coming true. On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers played a part in adding a new chapter to one of these stories.
The team announced on Monday that it would be calling up Andre Ingram, a guard for the South Bay Lakers, from the NBA G-League. While calling up a G-League player is nothing new and with only two games remaining on the schedule, perhaps not significant, Ingram’s story turns this into a fairy tale in the making.
Ingram has endured low pay and diminishing hope in the NBA G-League for 11 years, playing a total of 384 games for two franchises in his long career. Most players do not spend that much time in the NBA’s developmental league, instead looking for greener pastures and a bigger payday overseas. But the 32-year-old Ingram has stuck with his dream of playing in the NBA and it’s finally paying off.
This will likely be the first time Ingram plays in an NBA game.
Ingram is the all-time leader in threes made in G-League history with 713, having shot 46.1 percent for his career. This season, the guard averaged 9.1 points per game, shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 47.5 percent from three.
The South Bay Lakers’ season ended last week with a loss in the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers have been one of the NBA’s most consistent users of the G-League. Their two-way players (Alex Caruso, Vander Blue and Gary Payton II) have appeared in a combined 49 games. Additionally, the team has received major contributions from Travis Wear who was signed on to the team for the rest of the season. In addition, Lakers players like Ivica Zubac and Thomas Bryant have spent plenty of time playing with the team’s affiliate.
Ingram will have two chances to suit up for a banged-up Lakers squad against the Houston Rockets and LA Clippers.
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