Three Reasons To Play For The Lakers

First, a list of his accomplishments. Kobe was drafted out of highschool at the age of seventeen, broke into the league by winning the Slam Dunk contest in his rookie season, and by age of twenty-five he was a three time world champion. He was the youngest person to be named a NBA All-Star at the age of nineteen. The combination of his talents with the talents of Shaquille O’Neal was the greatest “one-two punch” of all time. That is an objective fact. Shaq himself has even admitted that had the duo stayed together after the 2004 season, they most certainly would have gone on to win additional world championships, but Kobe didn’t need Shaq. When it was all said and done, Kobe ended up with five rings to his name to O’Neals four - all five with the Lakers I might add.

Every offseason, teams go into free agency looking to find that one player that will put them over the top. Some teams look for that game changing player on defense, while others look towards the offensive side of the ball.

Ever since Kevin Garnett, a teenager who by-passed college, was drafted as the fifth overall pick in the 1995 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft, more and more high school teenagers have been making the jump straight to the pros. Since the league draft of 1995, 17 first round picks have been high school players. This means that about 7 percent of first round draft picks in the NBA have been high school teens skipping out on their college education to make the jump to the NBA (Chylinski).

Their most notable free agent signing was point guard Rajon Rondo, who ended his tumultuous half-season with the Dallas Mavericks on a sour note. The Kings small forward, Rudy Gay, played a key part in recruiting Rondo, being that they’ve been close friends for years; Gay even had Rondo in his wedding a few years prior. Rondo also has ties to fellow Kentucky Wildcat,

I decided to use this article because of the hype surrounding Lonzo Ball being the next Jason Kidd. I watched him play at UCLA and I just wanted to see how he would play against NBA caliber players. He played bad, but I don’t think people should be calling him a draft bust because he hasn’t played since March and he has to shake off the rust. But I will admit I don’t he ever going to be able to shoot, especially with that unorthodox shooting form.

Oh by the way, the 15 boards were defensive rebounds. In the process, Randle joined Vlade Divac (2-24-95) and Lamar Odom (3-25-07) as the only Lakers to post such a stat line since the 1985-86 season and the second-youngest player in the NBA to do so in the last 30 years as well.

What NBA teams want is a player who is clutch and can win basketball games. That statement defines Lonzo Ball perfectly, as he makes everyone who plays with him better. So, therefore, Ball should be the number one pick in the 2017 NBA Draft because of his ability to change the momentum of the game without scoring himself and his determination to

Initially, the disaster could have started when the Lakers selected Russell over Jahlil Okafor in the 2015 NBA Draft. After making that pick, the first thought is, "ok, they'll get at least one out of Aldridge or Love, right?" Well, instead they will enter the 2015-16 season with Roy Hibbert at

Lonzo Ball, a hot basketball player from UCLA, is going to take part in NBA draft this year. His father, LaVar Ball, really has a big mouth. He said that his son would be better than Stephen Curry who was the MVP last season (Avakian 2017). There are a lot of articles talking about LaVar and criticizing his arrogance, instead of his superstar son. LaVar’s words had negative influence on his son’s future. I think he should stop talking and focus on his son’s future. In my journal, there are two reasons.

However, Curry was still drafted in seventh turn in the first round. “We think that he is a tremendous player. Not only is he a terrific shooter, but he can also pass the ball and is a very smart player.” General Manager Larry Riley picked Stephen Curry as their rookie member.(NBA Draft) After becoming the member of professional team, Stephen Curry had to work even harder in order to grow up as the professional player.

The most talked about person of the summer, Lonzo Ball, painted the picture of a star, earning himself the second pick of the 2017 NBA draft, only to downplay his expectations. Lonzo Ball is the NCAA’s best passer, averaging the most assists ever as a freshman in the PAC 12. Beginning his NBA career, he downgraded his assist numbers, scoring numbers, and lowered his field goal percentage by almost 25% (ESPN). Lonzo’s college stats raise the eyebrows of many greats, but his NBA stats have shown signs of bust.

Often compared to Jason Kidd, Ball has been commended for his leadership qualities along with his maturity and court vision. He is a facilitator in the veins of a true point guard, something not very common in the league anymore. He had an impressive season averaging 14.7 pts per game, 7.6 assists, and 6.1 rebounds helping catapult UCLA to a number 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. \

He is the NBA first overall draft pick and is selected by the Los Angeles Lakers

Through all of the struggles Luol Deng had to fight through he kept his focus on basketball and being able to provide for himself in the near future. In 2003 Deng accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Duke University. In the 2003-04 NCAA March Madness Tournament Deng led the Duke Blue Devils enroute to a Final Four appearance. Unfortunately the Blue Devils did not go any further in the tournament but in the end Deng had achieved what he had been hungry for since moving to London; he had grabbed the attention NBA coaches and general managers. After only one year at Duke Deng declared for the NBA Draft. He was drafted 7th overall by the Phoenix Suns. (Michael Wallace, ESPN) Since being drafted in 2004 Deng has had plenty of success at the NBA level. Deng has played for four different NBA franchises, has been selected to two NBA All-Star Teams, and was selected to the 2005 All-Rookie First Team. (Basketball-Reference.com) Luol Deng’s inspirational story is only one of many where current NBA players have gone from being in terrible situations to where their futures may seem hopeless to making something of themselves and becoming a billionaire doing what

Many people have a person that they look up to and who encourages them. It's someone who I think doesn't give up and gets back up when they fall down, who has an impact to other people around them and they work for what they have earned. A person that is a role model to me is a man named Kobe Bryant. He is a basketball player that accomplished many things in his career. He was also born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Biography Today 44). He is someone who overtime has shown persistence and courage throughout his career in basketball. Kobe Bryant was a role model and inspiring basketball player that had a great legacy in the NBA.