NBA Rumors: Brandon Ingram Second Crack At Stardom Evolving In New Orleans

The New Orleans Pelicans are a promising team with plenty of future young stars. When this is mentioned, the names of Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball come to mind. Most forget that the Pels do have Brandon Ingram as well. And right now, the second overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft is re-introducing himself.

Ingram is best known as that young cager who drew comparisons to Kevin Durant. With the Los Angeles Lakers, he showed some of that. But with a star-studded cast, the 22-year-old simply found it hard to come out of his shell. Most wrote him off since he missed a total of 30 games for the Lakers after being diagnosed with deep venous thrombosis. Fortunately, it was not life-threatening and Ingram is back in action.

With Williamson out, someone had to step up for head coach Alvin Gentry. As mentioned in a previous post, the Pelicans need some of their other guys to step up. Aside from Ingram, there is another former top pick in Jahlil Okafor and veteran Derrick Favors. And it appears the former Duke Blue Devil is up to the challenge.

In a recent loss to the Houston Rockets, Ingram finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists. The Pels are 0-3 to start the 2019-20 NBA season but it was the determination of the former top pick that caught the fancy of many, USA Today reported.

"When we lose like this, I’ll take it the hardest," Ingram said. "I know I can score the basketball and I can make plays for my team. So I definitely take it the hardest."

Ingram's (comeback) performance has been noticeable. In three games, he has averaged 27.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.7 blocks. Considering he has not played the past months, those are big numbers to go by. However, it remains to be seen if he can sustain those numbers when Williamson is cleared to return.

"I was away from the basketball game for so long. When I play it now, I just like to take advantage of it," Ingram said. "That was a crazy process for me. So when I step out on the floor, it’s just fun for me."

Ingram will be put to the test once more when they host the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 28. Tip-off is at 10 p.m. EDT at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.