The Los Angeles Lakers seem to have turned the tide. After struggling a lot at the beginning of the season, they made some huge changes at the trade deadline, and so far, they have been paying off. The team is playing some great basketball.
On Friday night, they took down the Oklahoma City Thunder in a matchup that had serious Western Conference standings implications. Lonnie Walker IV stepped up for the team in a big role off the bench after not getting much playing time in recent games. Head coach Darvin Ham praised him for staying ready after the game.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Lonnie Walker,” Ham said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “I said to the team sometimes, and it’s a reality of our business, you get some minutes cut short, or you don’t get to play at all, a lot of times, it’s through no fault of your own. It’s just circumstantial. And he’s the definition of what a pro is supposed to do at this level in terms of keeping himself ready. Putting that extra time in the gym, individually. Still watching film with the coaches. Still getting his rest. Still getting his proper nutrition. Keeping that great attitude, that great positive attitude that he has. And it showed tonight. He didn’t have to come out and worry about getting ready. He’s been staying ready. And if he doesn’t have that performance, we don’t win this game. It’s as simple as that. So, kudos to him, man, for being a pro’s pro.”
In his bench role, Walker helped propel the Lakers to victory over Oklahoma City. He ended the night with 20 points, four rebounds, and three steals on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Anthony Davis Shows Love to Lonnie Walker IV
Ham wasn’t the only person to show love to Walker after the game, though. Anthony Davis also had some high praise for the Lakers wing post-game.
“A true professional,” Davis said of Walker via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. ‘All our guys, if they play or not, play a lot of minutes, start then go to the bench, start, they don’t play, [they have] good energy and good vibes no matter what. Cheering for their teammates. Lonnie goes in after games. If he don’t play, he goes to the gym, gets shots. Constantly staying ready. And I always say, ‘If y stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready.’ So, he’s been locked in on his game when his number is called, and it was called tonight. And he stepped up and played well.”
Austin Reaves Shouts Out Anthony Davis
Meanwhile, Austin Reaves showed love to Davis, who also had a great performance against the Thunder, putting up 37 points, 15 rebounds, one assist, and one steal on 15-of-21 shooting from the floor.
“Like you said, from the get-go, he was being as ultra-aggressive, and that’s what we want from him every game,” Reaves said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “We want him to do that because, talent-wise, he’s second to none. Great performance.”