When looking at a box score, Lonzo Ball doesn’t stand out much. For example, in his regular season debut with the New Orleans Pelicans, Ball tallied eight points on 28.6 percent shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
Suffice to say, Ball won’t be winning any scoring titles this season.
However, the way Ball impacts the game without scoring is impressive to players like Kevin Durant, who told Quentin Richardson and Darius Miller of the “Knuckleheads” podcast that he believes the 21-year-old point guard still has a chance to do something special in the NBA with his skillset and high basketball IQ:
“I really think Lonzo could be pretty good, too. I held him to such a high standard when he got into the league I had to realize what he was as a player — like, he’s just a do-everything … You don’t notice he out there until he make a flashy pass but outside of that he’s just going to play solid, play defense, make the right plays, never complain, like, never argue to the refs, never distract you. I think his value, a lot of people put stock into what his father said coming into the league. The hype that his father put on him.
“I had to stop listening to everybody else. I’m like, ‘Let me just sit here and analyze this dude’s game.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s subtle with it.’ He’ll take you out all your action by just like playing hard as [expletive]. Dudes don’t do that no more, you know? He’ll pick you up and get in the passing lane and then he’l; just turn the whole game. I like him — he a problem.”
Praise has been hard to come by for Ball, who has shot 38 percent percent from the field for his career and has had a target on his back because of comments made by his father, so hearing this from Durant must have been a pleasant surprise for Ball.
Hopefully Ball’s game can be just as pleasant to the untrained eye sooner rather than later.
