The Lakers have finally signed rookie forward Brandon Ingram.
The team is hoping for big things from Ingram, who appears to have as much talent and upside as any rookie in his class.
How quickly he’ll be able to mature both physically and as a player to become effective will be worth watching, on a national level, not just in Los Angeles.
Drafted with the second overall selection of the 2016 NBA Draft in June, Ingram averaged 12.2 points (second on the team), 4.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists over his five games (all starts) at the 2016 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Following his Summer League play, Ingram was selected by USA Basketball to participate as a member of the 2016 USA Men’s Select Team.
According to the Orange County Register, “Ingram remained unsigned while the Lakers tried to maximize flexibility in free agency to sign players. His rookie contract is expected to be worth about $23.8 million over four seasons, with Ingram set to make about $5.3 million this season.”
The 18-year-old was the consensus ACC Freshman of the year in his lone collegiate season at Duke, while also earning a consensus Second Team All-ACC selection. He finished the season ranked sixth in the ACC in scoring (17.3), seventh in three-point percentage (.410) and minutes played (34.6), ninth in three-pointers made per game (2.2), 10th in blocks (1.4), and 13th in rebounds (6.8).
The Kinston, NC native was Duke’s leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 23.0 points per game to go along with 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists over the three games, scoring at least 20 points in each contest and playing in 119 of a possible 120 minutes of action.
The 6’9’’ Ingram was a member of USA Basketball’s 2015 United States Junior National Select Team and was a Parade All-American as a senior at Kinston High School. He won four straight 2A state championships, becoming one of two players in history to win four consecutive North Carolina State Championships, and was MVP of the state championship game as a senior.