Last year, Lonzo Ball was the closest thing the Los Angeles Lakers had to a marquee name. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft was sold to the fanbase as the franchise’s next great point guard, with president of basketball operations and Lakers legend Magic Johnson begging Ball to leave some of his records intact at the latter’s introductory presser.
Ball didn’t have a perfect rookie season, but he still had a good one by most measures, good enough for him to make the All-Rookie second team.