Johnson dazzled by Ball magic for LA Lakers

MAGIC Johnson believes Lonzo Ball’s dazzling performances in the Las Vegas Summer League are a shape of things to come as the Los Angeles Lakers attempt to regain former glories.

Ball, chosen by the Lakers with the second overa ll pick in t he draft, was named MVP of t he summer leag ue after posting t wo triple doubles and recording four games with 10 assists or more.

The 19-year-old’s performances rewrote the record books in the summer league. Until this year, no rookie had posted more than one game with 10 assists, and no rookie had completed more than one triple-double.

According to Johnson, that bodes well for the Lakers’ future.

“If he’s getting triple-doubles in the summer league, he is going to get triple-doubles in the regular season,” the Lakers president of basketball operations said on Tuesday.

“Just like me, when I got here, there was pressure. I was the No1 pick. I didn’t care about that. I am going to play my game. Lonzo is going to play his game. The great ones do,” he said.

Johnson, speaking at the unveiling of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at their El Segundo training base, said he had seen similarities between Ball and himself in his performances to date.

“Lonzo is special, no question about it, because he makes everyone better,” Johnson said. “He does something you can’t teach. He gives you a scoring pass. Very few point guards in this league can do that. I am talking about giving you a pass that leads to the score, not just passing it to you. I like him because he also is now a great teammate. He has a special effect on people.”

The Lakers, who completed the worst season in the franchise’s history in 2016 with a 17-65 record, and were second bottom in the Western Conference last season, were already a better team, Johnson said.

“The roster is more balanced. We saw the ball movement in summer league. We want to go up and down. Also, our practices are going to be amazing, and that will lead to us getting better in games,” he said.