The Los Angeles Lakers are preparing for the Las Vegas Summer League which gets started on Friday when they play the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers have one of the most stacked rosters of any team and at the head of that is Brandon Ingram.
The second-year forward really turned it on down the stretch of last season and Lakers fans are excited to see his growth. That will start in Vegas as Ingram will lead the Lakers team that also features Lonzo Ball and Ivica Zubac among others.
After practice on Wednesday Summer League coach Jud Buechler spoke about Ingram, saying that he’s emerging as a leader via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Lakers Summer League coach Jud Buechler said there’s been a big change in Brandon Ingram: “You can tell he's starting to emerge as a leader"
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 5, 2017
Buechler added that this Summer League team is Ingram’s to be in charge of via Winters:
Jud Buechler on Brandon Ingram's leadership: "It’s really his team, I’m looking at it like this is his team this summer to be in charge of."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 5, 2017
Even though it is only Summer League, Ingram becoming more vocal and comfortable as a leader is an excellent development. He is a naturally quiet person, but if he is going to be one of the team’s go-to players, and potentially the face of the franchise, he is going to have to be a leader.
Ingram will likely always be more comfortable as a lead by example type of player, but speaking up is a necessity for him and it is good to see that he is doing that.
This Lakers Summer League roster has big goals and plans on winning the entire tournament. With Ingram leading the way that is entirely possible, but more important is that Ingram is developing more than just his on-court game.