Lonzo Ball was named as this year’s Most Valuable Player for the summer league despite his latest calf injury. He averaged 16.3 points, 9.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 block per game during the Las Vegas Summer League.
The announcement was made before Los Angeles Lakers took on the Portland Trail Blazers for the championship game. He was not able to finish the semi-finale game against Dallas Mavericks as he was removed from the court during the third quarter due to his minor injury, ESPN reported.
Who are in the summer league first team with Ball?
The Las Vegas Summer League organizers named the other first-team members alongside Lakers’ Ball. They are John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks, Dennis Smith of the Dallas Mavericks, Josh Jackson of the Phoenix Suns, and Caleb Swanigan of Portland Trail Blazers.
The second-team members, on the other hand, are Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, Los Angeles Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma, Memphis Grizzlies’ Wayne Selden Jr., New Orleans Pelicans’ Cheick Diallo, and San Antonio Spurs’ Bryn Forbes. Tatum averaged 17 points per game, Forbes averaged 26 points a game, and Selden averaged 22 points per game, The New York Times reported.
Lakers managed to win against Blazers without Ball, Brandon Ingram
Los Angeles Lakers had to let Ball sit out for the championship game as they wanted to be cautious. Although it is just a minor injury, they reportedly did not want to cause further damage. Their other top player, Brandon Ingram, was also not allowed to play after he suffered from a cramp during the opening game.
Kuzma helped the Lakers win the championship against Blazers. He scored 30 points and did 10 rebounds.
Lakers’ summer league coach praise Ball
Ball did not play on all the eight games of Los Angeles Lakers during the Las Vegas Summer League. He missed two games after a groin injury and the most recent calf injury. Lakers’ summer league coach, Jud Buechler, said that Ball was named the MVP despite missing two games because the player is simply incredible.
Buechler said that Ball creates the environment “where when one of your top players is sharing the ball.” The coach called it contagious with the rest of the team making them play very well during this year’s Las Vegas Summer League.
The head coach of the LA Lakers, Luke Walton, also said that Ball gave the team a lot of confidence, which helped them win. Walton said that Ball has an unselfish nature when playing and echoed Buechler’s remark about such attitude being contagious.
