Lonzo Ball says Steve Nash gave him a bunch of tips on how to be healthy
By Nam Tran
The Los Angeles Lakers’ rookie Lonzo Ball revealed what he learned (on-court and off) from two-time MVP Steve Nash.
Los Angeles Lakers’ fans have high expectations for Lonzo Ball this season and there is a lot of pressure on him to play well and to help his team improve. And even though Ball hasn’t played a single NBA game yet, it seems that he is willing to take on those duties bestowed on him.
To make sure that he is ready for the tough, long road ahead of him, Ball worked out with two greats of the game, Kevin Durant and “Yoda” Steve Nash, earlier this month.
On the Pro Basketball Talk Podcast with Kurt Helin, Ball recalled:
"He’s an MVP, one of the best point guards who was playing, so anything that he taught me is definitely useful. And just that one day alone, I learned a lot, from coming off a screen, to guarding. There’s a lot of things that he helped with and I appreciate him taking time out of his day to do that because I know he didn’t have to."
Ball said that during his workout Nash didn’t just help him with his game on-court. He also gave him tips for staying healthy while off-court:
"We talked about all that. Nutrition, keeping your body right in the training room and stuff, lifting weights the right way, so he helped me on more things than just basketball. He helped me with my all around game."
Aside from being a legend in the sport, Nash was one of the healthiest players during his playing days. It seemed like as he got older, the better and more fit he got. In his thirties, Nash was the league MVP on two occasions and was an All-Star multiple times — once when he was 37 years old. So Ball having Nash as a mentor, even for that one session, will help him immensely during his rookie year.
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If Ball is able to apply all the knowledge that he learned from Nash to his already skillful utility belt, he should have a very good season. He might even possibly win the Rookie of the Year award and get the Lakers to the playoffs. (Though, the latter admittedly has a very slim chance of happening.)