Lonzo Ball Claims His New Jump Shot Looks Different But Isn’t Really Changed

There’s a very different feeling around the Lakers entering the 2018-19 season. That’s what happens when you add LeBron James to your roster, immediately transforming your team from a young, rebuilding squad to a perceived contender.

As he did in his return to Cleveland in 2014, LeBron has already set about to temper expectations. At media day on Monday, James insisted it’s not a championship or bust mentality in L.A., and there are various ways to measure success for the franchise that don’t involve titles. Still, there is significantly more pressure on the young Lakers core to perform and win now that James and the other vet signings have arrived.

Much of that pressure falls on Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, the two former No. 2 overall picks that are both expected to take on significant roles on a contender for the first time in their careers. Ball is coming off a rookie season in which he showed some of the promise that made him such a highly touted prospect, particularly on the defensive end of the floor and with his passing acumen. However, he also famously had one of the worst shooting seasons in recent memory and his funky shooting stroke has been a topic of conversation and controversy over whether he needs to change it.

This summer, we’ve seen clips of Lonzo’s workouts that show the young point guard shooting the ball with a smoother motion that still has him bringing the ball across his body, but his release looks better. At media day, Ball explained that the apparent changes weren’t so much a conscious effort to change his form, but simply the result of him getting stronger which allows him to get the ball to the rim smoother.

“My jump shot, to me I haven’t really changed it,” Ball says. “It looks a little different because I think I’m stronger now, so it’s getting up to the rim a lot easier, a lot smoother. So that’s helping a lot. But, just trying to focus on my balance and holding my follow through. That’s my two main things for sure. … You just gotta keep it consistent. Shooting is the same motion over and over again. So, me shooting, coming up I wasn’t really holding my hand up. I was kinda just letting it go. So, you definitely gotta play games with your mind to keep doing it over and over again.”

It’s clear Ball wants to pump the brakes on people thinking he’s gone through some Markelle Fultz-style complete teardown and rebuild of his shooting stroke. Instead, he feels he’s gotten stronger to where he can more easily and smoothly shoot the ball, rather than his flicking motion of old to somewhat catapult the ball to the rim.

There are little tweaks he admits to making, like trying to stay on balance and have a more pronounced follow through that can help with that consistency he speaks of. Still, for those hoping for wholesale changes to his jump shot, don’t expect to see that from Ball. The Lakers hope these smaller tweaks are enough to make him a more dangerous perimeter threat and expand his game even more.