As the Los Angeles Lakers continue to struggle through the beginning of the season, one young star has begun to shine. Lonnie Walker IV has quickly become a huge part of the Lakers core offense.
New opportunities
The Lakers signed Walker to a one-year $6.5 million contract this offseason, and since then he has begun to shine. The 23-year-old spent the first four years of his career with the San Antonio Spurs.
The 2021-22 season was his best season with the Spurs. He averaged 12.1 points, 2.6 rebounds in 23 minutes per game.
While last season was a good one for Walker, this season is off to an even better start. He is the only current Laker besides LeBron James and Anthony Davis to average over 30 minutes per game. He is right behind Davis and James as the team’s top scorers. Through 12 games, Walker is averaging 16.6 points and 2.3 rebounds.
New Found Confidence
Walker has credited much of his success to his teammates. He stated that “It only makes the game easier when you have three Hall of Famers – two Hall of Famers that are playing with us at the moment,”.
The three future Hall of Famers he is referring to are James, Davis and Russell Westbrook. James is currently dealing with a left abductor injury. With James out, the Lakers have been looking to Davis, Westbrook and Walker to pick up much of the workload.
Walker and Davis did just that during Friday night’s 128-121 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Davis recorded a season-high 38 points making 18-of-21 free throws. While Walker scored 17 points and had three assists.
As the Lakers try to turn their season around, they are going to have to rely on Walker and his newfound confidence to help them out.
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Featured image credit Maddie Meyer/ Getty Images
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