3 reasons Brandon Ingram could be one of the NBA’s best scorers in time

Brandon Ingram was drafted No. 2 overall by the Lakers in 2016 as a known long-term “project” type of prospect. That meant he probably wouldn’t win Rookie of the Year, but had the intangibles to grow into a perennial all-star in time.

After his first year in the league, there was little to love from his play, and an impatient L.A. fanbase was looking ahead to Lonzo Ball as its savior instead.

But in his second season, Ingram has had a number of moments in which it’s finally possible to see how he could blossom into a star — at least on the offensive end. He showed just that in the closing minutes of the Lakers’ 103-94 win in which he finished with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting.

Some of the most impressive things about the 2017-18 version of Ingram are the explosiveness of his first step to the rim, and his ability to use all 87 inches of his wingspan to push the ball past defenders to the cup.

In the closing minutes of the game against the Bulls, Ingram finished a pair of tough plays over the rim because of how he was able to take long strides, slow the game down, and release the ball at a place that only he could reach.

Slowing down one of the previous moves, you can see all of the components of what it takes to draw fouls on drives to the rim.

First, Ingram has the burst of speed, which puts Justin Holiday at his hip, and forces him to either foul, or defer Ingram to the next line of defense. Holiday chose both.

Second, Ingram took contact from Holiday, but was still able to control his body to attack Robin Lopez at the rim. He’s no longer falling over on every touch.

Ingram’s ability to get to the stripe is going to seriously improve his offensive efficiency numbers (see MVP-favorite James Harden). He’ll need to shoot free throws better since he currently hits them at 65 percent, but that should come as he progresses.

It’s already a sign of progress that he’s getting to the line 6.5 times per 100 possessions, according to basketball reference. That’s two more times than he got there in his rookie year.

Experience, and eventually bulking up will do wonders for Ingram’s constant mission of attacking the rim. We’ve seen it with Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and there’s no reason not to believe Ingram is in for a similar route of improvement by physical strength.

While still being rail thin, Ingram is already doing this all well.

Ingram’s play is only going to go up from here.