The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.
Ball went ahead of Jayson Tatum, De’Aaron Fox, Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo.
Ultimately, based on how their careers have gone up to this point, it’s fair to say that Ball hasn’t quite lived up to expectations.
After an underwhelming two-year stretch in L.A., he was included in a massive trade package that sent Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Lakers.
Davis ended up winning a championship immediately, while Ball’s uneven play has resulted in New Orleans refusing to give him a contract extension.
At this point, Ball’s father is publicly demanding his son be traded (again), and reports have already surfaced about which team he’d prefer to land with.
Based on everything that has happened, it seems safe to say that L.A. bungled its pick when Magic Johnson took Ball with the second overall selection. He has not lived up to the hype.
This week, Bill Oram of The Athletic revealed the absurd reason why Johnson opted to take someone as risky as Ball when there were safer, better options on the table.
“It was looked at from Magic and others’ perspective as being too good of a Hollywood story to pass up,” a source told Oram. “This has to work out because it’s a perfect story. Because it’s Hollywood.”
Aside from his inconstant play, Ball’s time in L.A. was also mired by injuries. At one point, the former UCLA standout came out and suggested that him constantly being hurt was the byproduct of his shoes.
While Ball has admittedly been healthier since switching to a new brand, his fluctuating play has continued. He is currently in the midst of a pretty strong run, but if his history in the league has taught us anything, a down stretch is inevitable.
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