Luke Walton ‘shocked’ at how good Lonzo Ball looked in practice

Lonzo Ball is working his way back from a knee injury and has already impressed Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton.

Ball underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in July to address issues that sidelined him at times last season. On Thursday, he practiced in full for the Lakers for the first time since they opened up training camp. A day later, Walton was praising Ball for looking so good.

Lonzo was a full go again. Luke: “I was shocked how good he looked the last 2 days as far as his feel for the game and getting out and competing.” Walton very impressed/pleased with how good Ball looked given he didn’t play all offseason. Said you couldn’t tell he was out.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) September 28, 2018

Ball is unlikely to play in the team’s preseason opener, but these statements are positive signs for the Lakers considering Ball hasn’t been able to do full-on training.

Ball was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 draft and had a shaky rookie season. Not only was he limited to 52 games because of his knee, but he experienced shooting woes, making just 36 percent of his field goals and 45.1 percent of his free throws. Those are numbers he needs to show vast improvement on if he wants to be an impact player in the league.