Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball played his third game since returning from an MCL injury on Friday (AEDT), and he impressed his head coach.
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Luke Walton said after the Lakers beat the Heat, 131-113, that Ball, who scored eight points with seven assists, six rebounds and a career-high six steals in 34 minutes, shone a little brighter than everyone else.
"He was great," Walton said of Ball, via ESPN.com . "To me he was probably the best player on the court tonight, and I think he only shot five times, which is why we've been so high on him from day one.
"He's one of the very unique players, it doesn't matter if he's taking shots, scoring 20 a game, or not, he can impact the game from all over. He was doing that for us tonight. All-around probably, in my opinion, the best player on the floor tonight."
But Walton wasn't the only one to come away from the game impressed with Ball. Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who scored 25 points off the bench, also sung Ball's praise after the game.
"I have been a big fan of him," Wade said. "I watched him play in college. He has a great feel of the game, and he doesn't play for statistics. He plays to win. He moves the ball, and his IQ of the game is incredible. He is athletic. Everyone talks about his shot, but he has been shooting that way his whole life. He can knock shots down.
"He is good, man. He is a good basketball player. Everyone expects him to come in and be Kobe Bryant, but Kobe Bryant wasn't Kobe Bryant when he came in. He had to work to it. So he has a long career, hopefully, in front of him and we will see how it shakes out."
Ball had played under 25 minutes in his first two games back following the injury, but Walton allowed him to play a full game Friday (AEDT). With Josh Hart out of the lineup with a fractured finger, Ball will likely see plenty of minutes moving forward.