Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons the team belongs on Santa’s nice list

2.  The young players are getting plenty of experience and the veterans are embracing their roles

Fans knew coming into this season that the main goal for Luke Walton’s players was for the young guys to gain experience playing in the NBA. With such a young roster, this season would act as a chance for Los Angeles to show off its young talent to the crop of free agents that will be considering joining the team in the summer of 2018.

That being said, Luke Walton has done an excellent job exposing his young players to the NBA game and putting them in the best position to succeed. Of the Lakers’ nine leading players in terms of minutes per game, eight of them are 25 years old or younger, so it’s clear that the team is trying to get these players more experience.

This strategy has allowed for the Lakers’ young talent to flourish while the veteran players take a backseat role and act as mentors to the younger players. Brook Lopez has been an excellent influence on Lonzo Ball as a reliable big man, and Corey Brewer has consistently brought the energy off the bench by accepting the challenge of guarding the league’s best players.

Going forward, it’ll be up to Luke Walton to decide whether he wants to continue developing these young players by way of getting them experience or allowing them to soak in the NBA game from the bench and letting the veterans take more of a leading role. Lakers fans can expect more of the same given the excellent performance of the young players.