Lonzo Ball Misses Lakers Summer League Championship Game With Injury

After thrilling fans in Vegas for the last several weeks, Lonzo Ball missed the Lakers championship matchup with the Blazers. The Los Angeles Times Tania Ganguli reported Ball would miss the final summer league game with a strained calf.

Ball left the Lakers semi-final matchup against the Mavericks in the third quarter after injuring his calf. He tried to get loose, but was not able to return to action. Ball returned to the bench with his teammates and appeared in good spirits. The injury does not appear to be major, but the Lakers are likely being cautious given the summer league tournament is an exhibition.

The Lakers play their first preseason game September 30 giving Ball plenty of time to make a full recovery. Ball spoke with NBA.com after the semifinal game, and explained what he was experiencing on the floor.

“It’s [calf] tight still, but we play at 7 tomorrow [Pacific Time] so hopefully I’ll be ready to go,” Ball told NBA.com. “It’s the first time my calf has gotten tight, so it was just being cautious. I wanted to get back out there, but the training staff took care of me. I’ll be with them tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get out there tomorrow.”

Things did not work out like Ball wanted, but there is a good chance the training staff is being cautious with the No. 2 overall pick. Ball had quite the summer league, and gave Lakers fans plenty of highlights to get through the off-season.

Ball averaged 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists in his six summer league games. While Ball displayed laser-like court vision, he failed to get into a rhythm from the three-point line. He shot just 23.8 percent from three.

Despite summer league coming to a close, fans can expect Ball’s name to stay in the news regarding his shoe endorsement decision. Ball wore Big Baller Brand, Nike, Adidas and Under Armour at various points of the summer league. He has admitted to wanting to start a bidding war between the shoe companies.

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