Following the draft, Monk answered five questions from Complex. One question concerned his opinion of the top two picks: Philadelphia’s Markelle Fultz and the Lakers’ Lonzo Ball. Both play the point. So, Complex asked Monk to compare their games.
“Fultz does everything, scores, gets people involved,” Monk said. “Lonzo just wants to get everybody involved. They’re both great picks but I think Markelle does a little bit more.”
It may be a fair critique, but Ball can certainly score. He averaged 14.6 points per game in his one year at UCLA. Fultz was a more prolific scorer — he put up 23.2 points per game — but it’s worth noting he was his team’s only real offensive option while Ball was surrounded by scorers.
The answer felt like a slight dig from Monk. His Kentucky teammate and backcourt mate, De’Aaron Fox, has been more vocal about his opinion of Ball. Though he respects the Lakers guard, Fox thinks he’s the better player.
Fans were looking forward to a Summer League matchup between the two today, but Ball will sit out with a sore groin. Fox had a funny reaction to the news.
