NBA: Ranking all 30 starting point guards for 2017-18

25. Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers

Like Mavs fans with DSJ, Los Angeles Lakers supporters probably aren’t happy to see their rookie Lonzo Ball this low on the list, but again, first-year players rarely come into the league and immediately establish themselves as top-10 players at their position.

As such, Ball will struggle compared to the rest of the league’s starting point guards, especially when factoring his drastic need for improvement on the defensive end. He might show signs of becoming a triple-double machine, but anyone daydreaming about the reinvention of Showtime might need to wait longer than his rookie season for it to come to fruition.

However, Ball is also the highest rookie on this list, not only because he’s a favorite for the Rookie of the Year Award, but also because of his impressive work at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where he earned MVP honors behind 16.3 points, 9.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game.