Alfonzo Mckinnie finished up his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers and although he did not receive much playing time, he was able to keep a positive mindset throughout.
Among McKinnie’s highlights were a season-high 11 points against the Sacramento Kings on March 4 to go along with two rebounds as well as 10 points against the Houston Rockets while averaging a total of 3.1 points per game and 1.4 rebounds per game.
Even though he spent more of the season on the bench, McKinnie discussed his experience of getting to play with and learn from superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis
“I think just watching guys like LeBron and AD, Wes. You know, guys who just been in the league for a while. Just watching how they maneuver in general as a professional, how they approach every day. I mean they’ve been around for a while and I’m trying to be around for a while so I’m just taking as much as I can from those guys and just learning and going with it.”
McKinnie’s young career has consisted of playing with a number of superstars, including Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in addition to James and Davis, which he is appreciative of.
“They all special in they own way so, great guys off the court, great basketball players as everybody knows. It’s just been a blessing for me to even be able to be teammates and compete with those guys. Like I said, I learned a lot from LeBron and other guys this year and you know from that team previously. Same things, I took a lot of stuff away from those guys.”
McKinnie evaluates first season with Lakers
McKinnie was told during his exit meeting that the Lakers enjoyed how he always stays ready. He also mentioned taking pride in always remaining ready as one of the most positive aspects of his Lakers tenure.
“But as far as the season, definitely had ended sooner than we anticipated but as I look back on the season for me personally, I gained a lot just being able to be around such good veteran guys and just being able to watch them and take away stuff from those guys. It’s been a learning experience for me and I’m appreciative of that.”
It will be enticing to see whether or not McKinnie returns for the Lakers to run it back, but with changes expected to come, he may ultimately be on the outside looking in on a roster spot in L.A.
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