Over the past few years, the Los Angeles Lakers have had luck getting meaningful minutes from players taken late in the NBA draft, and in some cases undrafted players like David Nwaba and Andre Ingram, among others. While some of their luck might just be that, much of their success can be attributed to the way the team has utilized their G League team, the South Bay Lakers.
Since its establishment in 2006, the South Bay Lakers, formerly known as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, have been home to 29 NBA call ups, including Ish Smith, Gerald Green, Nwaba, Travis Wear, and most recently Ingram, whose story of hard work and perseverance made him an overnight star.