MILWAUKEE – There are the players Brandon Ingram sees in himself when he fast-forwards a few years: Kevin Durant, of course; George Gervin; a little Tayshaun Prince.
Here’s a player who is not on that list, but maybe should be: Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 6-foot-11 do-it-all All-Star. Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks (22-29) in points, assists and steals, but also blocked shots and rebounds.
“That’s what we want Brandon to be,” Luke Walton said. “We don’t want him to be just a scorer or just a playmaker. We want him to be one of those guys that literally, by being on the court, ends up with blocks, steals, rebounds, points and assists. Just being all over the floor. That’s our vision for what he’s going to be.”
Few knew when the Bucks drafted Antetokounmpo 15th overall in the 2013 draft he would develop into the game’s most versatile player and, from the small forward position, the Bucks’ primary ball handler.
The odds seemed just as low that the 6-foot-9 Ingram, drafted second overall by the Lakers in June, would find himself starting games at point guard when D’Angelo Russell was injured.
“He’s got to be like the Greek Freak for us,” Nick Young said of Ingram last month.
Ingram, 19, said he has not studied Antetokounmpo, 22, closely, other than the games he has seen on ESPN. Ingram will make his third straight start for the Lakers (18-37) on Friday night at BMO Harris Bradley Center, and will draw Antetokounmpo – the first career matchup between two similar players.
“I’ve heard comparisons with him before,” Ingram said following a grueling practice Thursday, “but he’s never somebody I tried to model my game after. I model my game after certain players, but at the end of the day I want to be the first Brandon Ingram.”
Ingram averages 8.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2 steals per game, although the rookie has averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the two games since replacing veteran Luol Deng as a starter.
Either way, he has a long way to go before anyone calls him the second Greek Freak.
But it’s also not an outlandish comparison.
In his rookie season, Antetokounmpo posted similar numbers: 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists.
Both players are tall with unique playmaking skills, both are rangy on the defensive end with mirror-image 7-foot-3 wingspans and are praised for their understanding of the game.
It’s the combination of size and vision that Walton finds most intriguing.
“There is an advantage to being taller and being able to see everything from that vantage point,” he said. “You still have to have the ability to see everything. It’s being able to make those passes. … You can see over the defense, the length you have. All that stuff becomes easier the taller you are.”
Despite some success starting at point guard, Ingram said he wasn’t sure he could giving himself over to a pseudo-point guard role the way Antetokounmpo has.
“I think (Walton) just put me at a point guard position so I can be more aggressive,” he said. “That’s something I dealt with in high school, but it’s of course not my natural position (small forward). I think for me being in the starting lineup and me being my natural position has been good for me.”
ON THE RUN
The day after Wednesday’s 121-102 loss to the Detroit Pistons, after which Walton said the Lakers “weren’t mentally prepared to play a road NBA game,” the coach did not spare his players in practice. On the ninth day of a 10-day trip, Walton organized the players on the baseline to run sprints.
“We probably did more running than I probably would have liked on this type of road trip this late into it,” Walton said. “Where we’re at, I think it’s just as important to learn how to be tough and how to fight through things like that.”
The Lakers looked every bit a team that was ready to return home, grousing about the additional sprints, yelling at each other. Walton offered them a reprieve: They could either run one more set of sprints, or absolve themselves if two players – one chosen by the players, one by the coaches – each made one free throw. If they failed, there would be even more sprints.
Nick Young wanted to run and be done. Metta World Peace wanted to shoot on.
“Yeah, we’re taking the bet,” he yelled. “We trust each other.”
Lou Williams stepped up first. He missed. And the Lakers ran.
“We’ve got to continue to train our minds as far as not giving in to fatigue,” Walton said. “Even if that costs us a little bit tomorrow night with a little extra fatigue, I think it’s worth it for where we’re trying to get to as a team.”
ALSO
The Lakers’ game plan for Friday changed suddenly when Bucks forward Jabari Parker was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee for the second time in three years on Thursday. The former Duke standout was having a career year, averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds and shooting 49 percent from the field. He tore the same ligament in his rookie season. … The Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson practiced with his right thumb taped after suffering a mild sprain in Wednesday’s loss. He is expected to play through it Friday.
Contact the writer: boram@scng.com
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