For some NBA players, their true potential may only come out if they land on a team that would put them to good use. There are a lot of basketball stories that can back this and the latest one is about Brandon Ingram.
Ingram was part of the blockbuster trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans for all-star center Anthony Davis. Part of that deal included Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart as well as multiple picks and cash.
Disheartening as it may look for Ingram, Hard and Ball considering the Lakers went on to win the 2020 NBA title, he admits that things were not that well before the trade was officially made. He shared those moments, something that he would like prefer to forget when he appeared on the Old Man and the Three podcast.
Brandon Ingram's improvement as a shooter is incredible pic.twitter.com/vwCoDsTuFD — Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) December 25, 2020
“I know other guys around me, it killed them every day,” Ingram said. “When you wake up and you see your name on Twitter, and the guys around me, they love Twitter. They love searching, putting in their names.”
Aside from that, most will recall that Ingram was in a state of uncertainty at that stage. He missed the remainder of the 2018-19 season due to a deep vein thrombosis in his arm. The injury was believed to be life-threatening, raising concern on what the future held for the second overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.
Regardless, the 6-foot-7 defied the odds and rose to fame. His star started to shine with the Pelicans, resulting in him being named the 2020 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year. Beyond that, he was also named to his first All-Star game for the 2019-20 NBA wars.
True enough, Ingram continues to stay the course. He is putting up numbers far better than his three-year stint with the Lakers. The Pelicans are now building a team around the former Duke product, showing his true potential as critics had previously forecasted.
With him sharing the spotlight with sophomore phenom Zion Williamson, there is no telling if their combo can help the Pelicans reach greater heights. The first order of business is to make the postseason consistently and then ponder about possibly reaching the NBA Finals.
That may happen if the Pels can take in the right players moving forward. The only thing certain now is Ingram is on course to be one of the new emerging stars the NBA has to offer.
