Lonzo Ball and the Lakers Should Be the Team with the 3rd Most TV Games in 2017-2018

Yes, it’s only summer league, but Lonzo Ball going for 36 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds – plus hitting the game-winner – cements something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately: The Lakers should have the 3rd most televised games in the NBA next season, after only the Warriors and Cavs.

We know the defending champion Warriors will have the most games on TV (TNT, NBA TV, ABC, ESPN), and LeBron’s Cavs will almost certainly be 2nd. There will be some questions about which team should get the 3rd most airtime, as the Celtics are loaded, the Thunder added Paul George, the Rockets have James Harden and Chris Paul, and don’t sleep on the loaded Timberwolves, who added Jimmy Butler to the 2nd best young roster in the NBA.

But my vote would be for Lonzo Ball and the ascending Lakers. They’re the marquee franchise in the NBA. Ball is an enormous draw right now for NBA fans thanks to Don King LaVar Ball. People freak out over Lonzo’s sartorial selection. Also, he’s obviously a joy to watch. The Lakers will play a fun brand of basketball, and they do have a couple promising young players in Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram. It matters not if they win 30 games or 40; they’ll be interesting.

I actually think we could see a Christmas Day lineup that’s the best it has ever been:

Wizards at Celtics
Timberwolves at Thunder
Cavs at Warriors
Rockets at Lakers

You’d only be missing the Spurs, but otherwise, you’d have eight of the nine best teams in the league. On one day! Good luck not watching basketball for 5+ hours on Christmas Day.

The NBA schedule will be released in August.