Everyone has a take on Lonzo Ball. Some are helpful, like Kevin Garnett’s sage advice for the rookie point guard. Others are worried about his place in the Lakers organization or the impact of his father on the young star.
It’s always interesting to hear the advice people have for Ball, even if there’s no real reason for that person to give the advice, or any reason Lonzo should take it. But when it comes to the Lakers, advice from Kobe Bryant is worth heeding.
Bryant spoke to Chris McGee on Spectrum SportsNet’s ‘Connected With’ and the interview inevitably broached the subject of Ball, who has had his struggles in his rookie season.
Kobe’s advice was as simple as it is true: Ball needs to get better. The legendary Laker said the young star needs to “get better now,” then talked about how the young core of the team — Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle — can bring something special back to LA by following a similar mantra that he had with the Lakers when they were Bryant’s team.
“We never thought, ‘Okay we’re gonna win four years from now,’” Kobe explained. “We really thought, ‘This is our year. We’re gonna get this done. We’re gonna push, push, push, push, push, get better now.’ And in the process of having that kind of impatience, you develop. If you’re just patiently going about it, you’ll never get there. For players, it’s a kind of patient impatience.”
“Patient impatience” seems like the theme of most young players in sports, but that doesn’t mean Kobe is dishing out bad advice here. The pressure is on Lonzo, perhaps more than any rookie in recent NBA history. While the first overall pick in the draft is dealing with injuries, it’s all on Lonzo to make the Lakers shine.
“Get better now” might be inelegant, but it seems to be the only option for Lonzo Ball right now.
(Via Lonzo Wire)
