The Lakers selected Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft out of UCLA. Lonzo being the second overall pick put high expectations on him coming into the season. Magic Johnson said that Lonzo became "the new face of the Lakers" by drafting him second overall. More pressure was put on Lonzo to perform at an elite level as his father said some outrageous things like Lonzo would lead the Lakers to the playoffs and the Lakers would beat the Warriors in the Conference Finals and win it all -- none of which ended up happening.
2017-18 season
Believe it or not, the first time Lonzo worked out for the Lakers in the pre-draft combines, the Lakers weren't impressed with Lonzo's game and conditioning. With the poor workout from Lonzo, they weren't entirely sold on selecting him but they ultimately decided to take him with the second overall pick, which was made even more clear when they traded D'Angelo Russell to the Nets before the draft.
Before the season started, Lonzo participated in the NBA summer league which is common for most rookies to do. He ended up winning summer league MVP as he averaged 16.3 points, a league-leading 9.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds while averaging 32.5 minutes of playing time.
The Lakers' season opener on October 19 saw Lonzo perform poorly as he only put up three points on six shot attempts.
The entire game he got berated by Patrick Beverley over some of the remarks his father made.
His NBA debut was poor but made up for it in the next game against the Suns as he came an assist shy of a triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. On November 11 against the Bucks, Lonzo became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double as he got 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds.
Lonzo is no longer the youngest player to record a triple-double, as, later in the season, Markelle Fultz, the player selected before Lonzo, recorded a triple-double. Lonzo got two triple-doubles this season.
The NBA season is 82 games long but Lonzo missed 30 games because of injuries which included injuries to his knee and ankle.
A knee injury forced him to miss the NBA rising stars game during All-Star Weekend. In 52 games this season, he averaged 10.2 points, 7.2 assists and 6.9 assists in his rookie year. He averaged 34.2 minutes of playing time a game.
At the beginning of the season, his father LaVar said that Lonzo would win Rookie of the Year this year. While Rookie of the Year hasn't been announced yet, he will not be getting the award, as the finalists are Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum. In fact, he wasn't even the best rookie on the team this year as Kyle Kuzma outperformed Lonzo over the course of the whole season. Kuzma was taken with pick number 27 and averaged 16.1 points, 1.8 assists and 6.3 rebounds in 31.2 minutes a game.
Another thing that LaVar said his son would accomplish in his rookie year is that he would lead the Lakers to the playoffs. The Lakers didn't make the playoffs, as they finished in 11th place in the Western Conference with a record of 35-47.
What to expect from Lonzo in the 2018-19 season
With five months to go until the start of the 2018-19 season, Lonzo is most likely going to workout and train to improve his stats from last season. With Lonzo being best known as a playmaker and passer, Lonzo will work on plays and ways to give the ball to his forwards like Kuzma to score more points. He will probably also work on his three-point shot, as he only shot 30.5 percent from the three-point line. He will also need to work on his shot in general as he shoots from the side instead of a typical basketball shot which is taken from above your head.
With a star-studded free agent class and lots of money to spend, the Lakers are hoping to land a big-name player to join their young roster. They could potentially sign LeBron James who has named the Lakers as one of his potential destination spots. Another player they could possibly sign is Paul George who also grew up in the Los Angeles area. They could also make a trade for Kawhi Leonard, though if they did, Lonzo would most likely be included in the trade package.