Andre Ingram, The 32-Year Old Rookie Making His NBA Debut Tonight, Lead The Lakers In Scoring In The First Half

3-3 from the field, 2-2 from three, 3-3 from the free throw line, Andre Ingram is making the absolute most of his NBA debut at the ripe young age of 32 and I’m loving every second of it. 10 years in the G League after four years at a mid-major, Andre Ingram had to have given up on his dream of playing in the pros at some point during his journey. And I don’t blame him. It’s hard as hell to get to the NBA. Floating around in the G League for a decade had to bring up plenty of doubts. But he kept plugging away, knocking down threes, and the Lakers rewarded him with a two game stint at the highest level. A blip on the radar for the entire history of the NBA, but for Ingram this has gotta be the best feeling in the world.

Not only that he’s playing in a real NBA game, dapping up Hall of Famers, wearing the same (alternate) jersey as Kareem, Magic, Wilt, Jerry West, so many legends of the game, but he’s out there COOKING! 11 points in 13 minutes on 100% from the field, the only active member of the 100/100/100 club, the best offensive player in Los Angeles Lakers history to wear a number in the 20s. My lone critique is that he’s only taken three shots. Andre, buddy, let that thing fly. Luke Walton isn’t going to pull you from this game because you took an errant shot. This team literally employed Nick Young for several consecutive years, and Kobe Bryant the 20 years prior to that, they LOVE errant shot chuckers in Los Angeles. Likely the only way to parlay this two game contract into a multi-year deal is to shoot often and with a reckless abandon.

PS – Barely five minutes into his NBA debut and he already has two (2) more career made threes than Ben Simmons. Rookie of the Year??? It’s hard to say.