For a large stretch of the 2019-20 season, Lonzo Ball put together a strong season. With his jumper looking vastly improved from seasons prior, Ball had a 45-game stretch where he averaged 12.7 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds and shot 39.2% from three-point range.
However, Ball’s season was also marred by a brutal finish to the season inside the bubble. In the final seven games, Ball shot just 28.1% from range, a figure only slightly lower than the 34.3% he shot over the opening 11 games.
But the stretch of strong play for Ball made fans and fellow NBA players alike believers moving forward. On Thursday night, Damian Lillard hosted an impromptu Q&A on his Twitter in which he was asked which players he thought would make a leap next season. The two names he listed were Ball and Caris Levert.
Ima go with Caris Levert or Lonzo Ball https://t.co/eeHkuioZuN
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) September 4, 2020
There are reasons to believe Ball could have a strong 2020-21 campaign. Most notably, Ball enters the off-season this year fully healthy for the first time since entering the NBA. In the previous two off-seasons, Ball was coming off either an injury or surgery that kept him out for much of the summer.
This year, Ball enters the off-season not only healthy but coming off what was largely a productive season. Given his noted work ethic, next season certainly could see Ball match his teammate and friend Brandon Ingram’s accomplishments this season.
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