Magic: Lonzo entering season with 'beautiful' new shooting form
Lonzo Ball's unorthodox shooting form and weak percentages during his rookie campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers drew a great deal of criticism.
The 20-year-old point guard is at least self aware of his shortcomings as a shooter, which is why he took it upon himself to try and improve that facet of his game by reworking his form over the summer.
""We didn't want to bother him [his shot]," said team president Magic Johnson on Thursday, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "I think he decided to do that on his own.
"And, man, it is beautiful."
Johnson said that Ball now brings the ball more in front of him and does the same with his follow through. Where he sets and releases his shot hasn't changed.
"I think his shot looks incredible," added general manager Rob Pelinka. "He was here every day. He was one of the most committed guys this offseason. ... The way he's shooting the ball looks a lot more fluid now.
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"One of the things about his college metrics is he was an outstanding 3-point shooter. With this team, with so many different ball handlers, I think that's a strength for him. If he pushes it ahead to someone and runs and fills a spot, and he's a catch-and-shoot player, he's going to have the ability, I think, to be a good shooter."
Los Angeles Lakers Lonzo Ball is back at it. New shooting form or nah? 🤷♂️ #Born2Ball #zo2 #NBA #lakeshow pic.twitter.com/kTmHdAbQPN
— Big Baller Brand Media (@theballera) August 28, 2018
Ball converted 41.2 percent of his 3-pointers during his lone season at UCLA, with that number dropping to just 30.5 percent during his first season in the NBA. The second overall pick of the 2017 draft shot 36 percent overall across 52 outings, including 33.5 percent on the catch-and-shoot and 31.7 percent on pullup shots.
Of the 154 players in the Association who played 1,700 or more total minutes, Ball ranked 153rd in true shooting percentage at 44.4 percent.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in July and will be ready for the start of Lakers training camp, although he'll initially be held out of five-on-five drills.