Lonzo Ball, following his UCLA team's sweet sixteen loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, announced he would be foregoing the remaining years of his eligibility and entering the NBA draft this coming June. Ball declaring for the NBA draft is of little surprise, as he's been projected as a top-3 pick all season and was widely expected only to play one collegiate season. The Bruins undoubtedly had hoped to extend their tournament run beyond this point, but they had a great season to a great part because of how talented Lonzo Ball is.
Even NBA great LeBron James is a fan of his game.
Lonzo Ball's NBA comparisons
As a California native who stayed at home, Ball has naturally been compared to Jason Kidd. The two player's games are very similar, as Ball is a play-making guard who excels at making those around him better much like Kidd did His length on defense allows him to make plays that very few players ever could, and his basketball instincts allow him to see most plays two or three steps ahead of everyone around him.
Like Kidd, Ball will need to improve his jump shot at the NBA level. He wasn't a terrible collegiate shooter, but his strange release point may be a problem against better defenders. Lonzo Ball is so talented that he could improve his shot mechanics and become a better shooter in time, but whether or not he's willing to change his shot after being successful at every level remains to be seen.
NBA teams and Lavar Ball
With the NBA draft lottery taking place on May 16, we are still close to two months away from knowing the final NBA draft order. At the moment, however, it would appear that teams like the Boston Celtics (through Brooklyn's first round pick), Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns are the most likely teams to pick inside the top 3.
Ball has been mentioned as either the draft's top pick or the second pick, behind Washington's Markelle Fultz. There's a good chance Ball will be playing for one of those three teams at this time next season.
LaVar Ball, Lonzo's dad, is likely going to be a hot topic for Lonzo to answer during team interviews leading up to the draft.
His father has said several outlandish things over the last month, including a very odd discussion on the future of LeBron James' kids. He's also said he could have beat Michael Jordan 1-on-1 in his prime, his son Lonzo was better than Steph Curry right now, and he wanted a $1 billion shoe deal for the rights to his three sons. While most of his nonsense has been harmless, NBA teams don't want to be in the news every day for something a player's dad said after a game or a poor stretch of games. He's a lightning rod that some teams will be wary of, and it could be the difference between his son going first overall or second. We'll have a better idea on May 16.
