Los Angeles Lakers rising star Brandon Ingram feels honored to be named to the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team. Though the 19-year-old appreciates the award, he insists that his rookie season goals were bigger than that. Ingram, the number two pick of the 2016 NBA draft, was expected to be one of the best newcomers this past season.
Ingram's not so great start to the NBA journey probably cost him a place in the All-Rookie First Team. The forward was battling with inconsistency early on, which could have been caused by the pressure and expectation to perform well.
However, Ingram didn't let the early struggles affect him in the rest of the way, stepping up after the All-Star break. The Duke product caught some spark and good rhythm which led to him finishing the season on a strong tale. Ingram averaged 13.5 points per game in March before posting 12.7 points per contest in April on a notable 51.7 field goal percentage and 42.4 shooting percentage respectively. In the end, he finished the rookie campaign averaging 9.4 points on 40.2 field goal percentage.
''It's an amazing accomplishment,'' Ingram said during his appearance on ESPNLA's Mason and Ireland. ''Of course, I appreciate it. But, it's not the way that I envisioned it. Got off to a slow start in my game...If I had the same mentality that I had in the last part of the season I definitely thought it would have been a lot better.''
The changes
Brandon Ingram knew something had to be changed in order to improve his picture before the season ends.
Ingram was clearly not the same player after the break the players get during the All-Star period. The Los Angeles Lakers' forward was looking more locked in, determined, focused, not afraid of the moment and eager on being more of an impact since.
''Just my focus was there. The way I attacked each game, the routine I did before each game,'' Ingram said when asked about his mentality in the second part of the season.
Drawing positives
Finishing the season on his own terms has certainly made Brandon Ingram feel better about his game and has given him a boost of confidence going forward. Ingram has been putting in work the whole offseason, eyeing to improve for the next year. Los Angeles Lakers fans will have a chance to see Ingram in action as early as in this July when the team starts its NBA Summer League campaign in Las Vegas. The number two pick of last year's NBA draft is expected to play some games during the league.
