After the Los Angeles Lakers signed a bevy of veterans past their 30s in free agency, Malik Monk quietly stood out from the pack.
The 23-year-old guard signed a one-year deal with L.A. after posting a career year with the Charlotte Hornets. Despite drafting him No. 11 in 2017, Charlotte let him walk because it had too many guards on the roster.
That paved Monk’s path to the Lakers, and after playing 31 games, Monk has established himself as one of the best bench scorers for the team.
That hasn’t been difficult to achieve given Los Angeles’ struggles this season, but Monk has genuinely been a valued member of the team amidst all the issues.
He recently missed five games due to health and safety protocols, but in his three games since returning, he’s scored 20 points, 25 points, then 15 points on 58.3% shooting overall and 42.1% from 3-point range. Monk started in the latter two scoring games.
After his 15-point outing against Memphis, he confirmed his aspirations of being a reliable player alongside LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis.
“I try to take that role every (game), it don’t matter if I’m playing a lot or not, I try to take that role and everything that comes with it. I want to be that guy. I’ve been coming into games thinking that and playing like that, too.”
Monk is averaging 10.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists off the bench, which is solid all things considered. He’s one of the team’s best secondary creators, and he pairs smoothly alongside LeBron.
The Lakers need Monk to keep performing this way because his value to the squad will only increase when Davis returns to the lineup.
