Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team while point guard Lonzo Ball was an All-Rookie Second Team Selection.
Lauri Markkanen (Chicago Bulls), Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz), Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics) joined Kuzma in receiving First Team honors. Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sacramento Kings), John Collins (Atlanta Hawks), Josh Jackson (Phoenix Suns) and Dennis Smith Jr. (Dallas Mavericks) round out the Second Team.
This marks a fourth consecutive season the Lakers have had a player earn an All-Rookie selection. Jordan Clarkson was a First Team selection for the 2014-15 season, and D’Angelo Russell (2015-16) and Brandon Ingram (2016-17) were both included on the Second Team.
Kuzma is the Lakers’ 12th player in franchise history to receive First Team honors. He finished tied for a team-leading 16.1 points per game this season, while also averaging 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
In-season accolades for Kuzma included being named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in October and November.
He went on to break Russell’s Lakers record for most 3-pointers made by a rookie in a single season, and also became the franchise’s first rookie Jerry West in 1960-61 to score at least 25 points in three consecutive games.
Kuzma later tied two of Magic Johnson’s franchise rookie records and finished fifth on the team’s all-time rookie scoring list. Overall this season, Kuzma ranked second among rookies in points per game, fifth in rebounding, seventh in 3-point percentage (.366) and ninth in field goal percentage (.450).
Despite being saddled by injuries throughout the season, Ball enjoyed an encouraging rookie campaign. He appeared in 52 games (50 starts) and averaged 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.7 steals.
Ball finished the season tied for first among all rookies in steals, while ranking second in assists and fourth in rebounds. He tied LeBron James as the youngest player in NBA history with multiple triple-doubles in a single season.
Ball and Kuzma were both named to the Rising Stars Game, along with Ingram, giving the Lakers three named participants for the first time since 1997 when Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and Travis Knight received the same honor.
