“Being an All-Star is definitely my next goal on the list”: New Orleans Pelicans’ Lonzo Ball
New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball has said that he wishes to become an NBA All-Star player.
During an interview with the Athletic and the Stadium’s reporter Shams Charania, Lonzo Ball spoke about a number of issues, ranging from his struggles with jump shots and his stint with the LA Lakers, which benefitted him immensely.
With the New Orleans Pelicans enduring a difficult campaign, Lonzo Ball said:
“I think, as a team, we just gotta try to close the year strong. We are fighting for sure, but there is still a chance, so we gotta do what we can, you know, our part to give ourselves the best shot, and individually I think just being All-Star is definitely my next goal on the list, and it should be coming up pretty soon.”
Lonzo Ball is having the best season of his career and has shown a vast improvement in his shooting since debuting in 2017-18.
Lonzo Ball talks about how he improved his shooting
Lonzo Ball said that his improved jumpshot has come about, thanks to New Orleans’ Pelicans’ assistant coach Fred Vinson. He said in this regard:
“I pretty much give all the credit to Fred Vinson. He pretty much took me under his wing when I got there first week; he let me shoot my way for the first two days and then he slowly changed it, in probably over a week. And then we kept grinding and grinding to get where it is now. I think in my first two years, I wasn’t shooting the ball like I could or like I wanted to do. I think a lot of it had to do with the technique, maybe I was getting bigger and stronger, and it just wasn’t coming off the same.”
Lonzo Ball said that incessant practice and the building up of muscle memory allowed him to produce an improvement in his overall shooting. He also talked about his evolution as a team leader and shed light on his friendship with former LA Lakers star Julius Randle.
“On and off the court, I think, coming to New Orleans has helped me just kind of be my own person, I had nobody looking over me, just doing my thing now. I think that has worked out well for me. I have pretty much lived by example my whole life. I have always been trying to work on the vocal part of it. Definitely, just being in the NBA locker room, there are a bunch of grown men over there so you have to be vocal."
Lonzo Ball continued:
"When I was with the Lakers, we would have like a team meeting when we were losing games. I just spoke up for my teammates, and I think ever since then, one of my teammates I have had a good bond with is Julius Randle. I spoke up for him, and ever since that day, we have been cool. So just things like that, just speaking my mind. I definitely have to sometimes remind myself to speak up, or sometimes when I don’t even want to say something to say something, just to help the guys you know move forward.”
The New Orleans Pelicans have relied on the likes of Lonzo Ball, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram to keep them in postseason contention. They are currently 11th in the Western Conference standings and fighting for a spot in the play-In tournament before the playoffs.