Lakers’ Lonzo Ball makes triple-double history, but winning-obsessed rookie doesn’t care
November 12, 2017 by admin
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MILWAUKEE — Thirty-one seconds into the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 98-90 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night at a packed Bradley Center, Lonzo Ball made history. And he didn’t even have to move to do it.
Standing under the basket, Ball caught the airball Thon Maker threw up from 3-point land, and in doing so, secured his 10th rebound. With that he officially recorded his first NBA triple-double, making him the youngest player in the history of the NBA to achieve the feat.
At 20 years and 15 days old, the Lakers’ rookie point guard surpassed a player you might have heard of before: LeBron James. The King has held the record since Jan. 19, 2005, when, at 20 years and 20 days old, he put up a triple-double for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He had 27 points, 11 rebound, and 10 assists that night.
Ball, for his part, finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. He also had four blocks and three steals, falling just short of a vaunted 5×5 game.
The accomplishment, though, meant nothing to Ball. Or at least that’s what he told the crowd of media huddled around his locker after the game. “I really don’t care,” he deadpanned. “We took a loss, so, it doesn’t really mean nothing.”
Perhaps, with time, he will look back and see the record for what it is, an incredible feat, and something to be proud of.
But on Saturday night, Ball wasn’t interested in celebrating. Even when pressed, the eldest Ball boy was steadfast in his disinterest. “No, it don’t matter to me, to be honest,” he reiterated. “I just wanted to win tonight. I thought we put ourself in a good position to get it, but it didn’t happen.”
Despite the loss, Saturday’s performance was the one everyone has been waiting for from the big baller, and the type the Lakers foresaw when they made him the No. 2 overall pick this summer.
He pushed the pace, as he always does, and his aggressiveness helped set his teammates up for easy baskets. Of the 13 assists he recorded, all but three were for dunks or layups. Of course he also crashed the glass well, but most importantly, he was efficient on the offensive end. He shot 7-12 from the field, including 3-5 from downtown, which was by far his best shooting performance of the season.
His coach Luke Walton, in particular, was impressed. “He was really good tonight,” Walton said after the game. “Obviously it helps when you get some of those shots to go in, but I thought he did a great job, playing at a pace, creating for others, constantly kind of being the aggressor on the offensive end, keeping a defense that’s a very aggressive defense on their heels. It was a great road, overall game for him.”
It was only fitting that Ball’s triple-double came against the Bucks, who are coached by none other than Jason Kidd. Ball has been compared to the legendary point guard time and again — both before the draft, and in recent days, as the two recorded eerily similar stats over their first 10 games. Kidd himself even commented on the similarities, dismissing them as a “stretch” during an appearance on First Take.
After the game, however, the Bucks’ coach had nothing but praise for the young Laker. “He’s a very talented player,” Kidd remarked. “His strengths in finding the teammates and being able to rebound the ball make the game easy for his team, and he played at a very high level tonight. He can play, and he’s going to make his team better. The triple-double is going to be the norm for him. He’s going to fill up stat sheets.”
Given Ball’s multitude of talents, that certainly could be the case. But no matter how frequently the triple-doubles come, they won’t matter to the man himself.
As Ball said after the game, “I’d rather have a win.”
