The last time Josh Hart was on a basketball court in a Lakers jersey, he dropped 30 points on the Clippers in the regular season finale, canning seven triples to go with five boards and five assists to cap a successful rookie season.
The stakes were different on Monday night in Sacramento, when the 30th overall pick in 2017 was the veteran leader for L.A.’s group of rookies and undrafted free agents. And yet it felt at least a bit like a real NBA game for debut of the California Classic that featured a loud, nearly full Golden1 Center and ultimately resulted in a 98-93 loss to the Kings in the first of three games in the state capital.