Lakers guard Ball says he's doing "not bad" in rookie season

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball said on Thursday that he would give himself a B for his performance in the rookie season.

"I give myself a B," Ball was quoted by the ESPN as saying on Thursday. "I mean, obviously, you want to do the best you can and focus on making the playoffs, but I think this year was more just about learning. It's my first year in the NBA. I don't think I did tremendously well, but I don't think I did bad."

Being the No. 2 overall pick in 2017, Ball has been expected to stun the NBA world with his shooting and dribbling skills, but he did not live up to his name which the UCLA star guard's earned in the NCAA.

Ball shot 55 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range during his lone season at UCLA, but those numbers dropped to 36 percent and 30.5 percent respectively in his first year with the Lakers. His free throw shooting was a poor 45 percent as well. Ball averaged 10.2 points, 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds in the season and the Lakers failed to make it to the playoffs.

"We won more games than we won last year, that's a plus and guys are growing. I think we're all coming into our own and it's something special for the future." Enditem