Former Los Angeles Laker and current South Bay Laker Andre Ingram has plenty of reasons to smile. Although the small town turned overnight star played only a handful of games in the NBA, he continues to leave his mark on the G league.
Ingram played another season with the South Bay Lakers in 2021-22, continued to serve as an inspiration for young players and people across the world.
Now, Ingram has something he can add to his trophy care. The league recently announced that Ingram is the winner of the 2021-22 Kia NBA G League Sportsmanship Award.
NBA G League announced today that @SouthBayLakers guard Andre Ingram has been selected as the winner of the 2021-22 Kia NBA G League Sportsmanship Award, which honors the player who best represents the ideals of character & conduct as a teammate on the court & in the locker room.
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) April 10, 2022
Ingram is widely known for his short stint in the NBA in 2018 when the Lakers signed him for a couple of games to close out the season. Ingram’s debut dazzled basketball fans everywhere, and his story of persistence and hard work inspired fans and aspiring athletes.
After spending 10 years in the G-league, the Lakers were the first team to take a chance on Ingram. The team was struggling that year, and young starters Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma were all sitting on the sidelines for the competition against the Houston Rockets.
Ingram stole the show, although the Lakers ended up losing. He went 4-for-5 from the 3-point line and had an impressive three blocks and three rebounds along with his total 19 points for the night. He set the record for most 3-pointers for a Laker player’s NBA debut and ended up being one of the best moments of that Lakers season.
The team ended up signing the then 33-year-old to a 10-day contract the following season, and the dedicated guard returned to being an important fixture on the South Bay Lakers.
Ingram was only inspired further by his time in the NBA. Since then, he has gone on to become the all-time leader in most games played in the G-league, and became the first-ever President of the G league’s union, serving back-to-back terms.
His most recent accomplishment only highlights the traits we have come to love about Ingram: his upstanding character and persistent work ethic.
Rob Pelinka says Frank Vogel will ‘be a great coach somewhere else
The much-anticipated removal of Frank Vogel as the Lakers head coach came into fruition after the conclusion of the 2021-22 season. Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager, Rob Pelinka gave limited details about the departure of Vogel in a press conference, stating that it was a joint decision from the “very top level.”
“I think today is not gonna be a day of finger-pointing or unwinding all of the specific reasons,” Pelinka said. “We just felt organizationally at the highest level, it was time for a new voice and those decisions are made at the very top level in a collaborative way by our basketball operations department and ultimately with Jeanie [Buss] and Tim [Harris] and the leaders of our organization and we just felt like it was time for a new voice.
“And that’s not to say anything against the incredible accomplishments that Frank Vogel has had here. He was a great coach here and he’s going to go on to be a great coach somewhere else, we just felt like it was time for a new leader and that’s why we made the decision today that we did.”
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