The most surprising player from each NBA team this season
By Connor Learn
Los Angeles Lakers: Ivica Zubac
The Los Angeles Lakers have approached the post-Kobe era with a rebuild. First year coach Luke Walton has got results out of his squad; Nick Young and Lou Williams are having their best seasons in years. Despite this, the Lakers have the third-worst record in the league. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — they owe their first round pick to Philadelphia if it falls outside the top three. The progression of young players, not results, is the goal for this Lakers squad.
Los Angeles has young building pieces. D’Angelo Russell is well on his way to becoming a good scoring guard. Brandon Ingram has all of the tools in the world, Julius Randle has flirted with numerous triple-doubles at power forward, and Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. will also be around a while. But the thing they couldn’t have counted on was their 19-year-old second round pick, Ivica Zubac, showing why he will be their center of the future.
Zubac is 7-foot-1 in shoes, with a 7-foot-4 wingspan and an NBA ready body already. He runs the floor well and excels at finishing around the rim in the pick-and-roll. Zubac is shooting 86.7 percent from the line, which suggests that his jump shot should become an asset. With averages of 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per 36 minutes, it’s easy to see Zubac developing into a starting center. The Lakers needed a break in their rebuilding process and likely grabbed the steal of the 2016 Draft.