Brandon Ingram had an up-and-down Summer League, but he did show flashes of the player the Lakers were expecting when they took him second overall in last month’s NBA Draft.
Before the season starts, Ingram will have more opportunities to improve his game, as he was selected to be a member of the U.S. Men’s Select Team (along with teammates D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle) and they will get the chance to scrimmage against none other than the U.S. Men’s Olympic team before they head off to Rio.
Ingram will certainly be challenged on both ends by players like Draymond Green, Carmelo Anthony, and Jimmy Butler, but there is one player in particular that Ingram may be looking forward to playing against the most: Kevin Durant.
The comparisons between Ingram and KD are natural. They were both taken second overall in the Draft, they can both score from all different parts of the court, and they are both skinny and lanky.
Durant has added some muscle over the years since he was drafted in 2007, but is still slight compared to superstar forwards like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. The former Duke star said he would seek out tips from Durant when they meet up in Las Vegas. Via the Orange County Register:
“Learning from him, he scores the ball so well,” Ingram said. “On the defensive end, he uses his length and blocks shots. I think going through this process, I want to learn from eventually all these guys.”
Still, while Ingram did say he wanted to get advice from Durant, he didn’t necessarily believe he needed to ask the former MVP about how he deals with being frail as he feels like he has that aspect handled.
“What I learned the most is, it’s not about the body type. It’s about your skill level and what you can do on the basketball court. If you can score the ball, I think everything becomes a lot easier for you.”
Ingram may find it just a bit tougher to score in the NBA than it was in college and high school, but you can’t question his natural ability. It will be interesting to see how he overcomes his lack of strength at the pro level as he will have to get a bit more creative in getting his shots off and drawing contact.
(Via Orange County Register)
