When the Los Angeles Lakers began the 2016-17 season, there weren’t a lot of reasons to believe Ivica Zubac would start for the team. The 2017 second-round pick had showed promise during Las Vegas Summer League, but still appeared incredibly raw.
The Lakers had also just spent $64 million on Timofey Mozgov to start at center, as well as re-signing perennially underrated backup option Tarik Black. Lakers head coach Luke Walton had spoken openly about sending Zubac to the D-League for seasoning.
Several months and D-League stints later, Zubac is not only starting for the Lakers, but he’s being given the green light to test out his 3-point shot in real games.