Los Angeles Lakers rookie Moe Wagner is bringing it in practice and is beginning to impress his teammates.
The German power forward, who can also function as a center, scored his first points of the season against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday - it took him two months, mind - and had his teammates going wild from the bench as he sunk a pair of free throws en route to a 10-point performance in 10 minutes of action.
The 21-year-old was chuffed, to say the least, claiming that the moment was a "cool" one for him.
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“I looked back and they went nuts," he said after the game, per SB Nation. "It was pretty cool, the way they reacted. It was fun, it’s been a while. It was a very cool moment for me.”
Head coach Luke Walto also appreciated the support the youngster received from his teammates.
“I think it speaks to the culture our team has and the guys we have," he said. "Obviously, it’s exciting any time a rookie gets their first points, but if you looked at our bench you would have seen the other bigs, (they) take pride in this. They work out against each other every single day and I think that excitement kind of got the whole crowd to recognize it was one of our rookie’s first NBA points.”
Apparently, Wagner is a big hit in the Lakers locker room and his teammates were glad to see his graft in practice finally pay off.
“He’s just a good kid, man," Michael Beasley remarked. "Nobody wants to go through injury, so for him to go through it his rookie year is a little sad, so we all just root for him a little more. He’s a funny guy,” Beasley said. “He’s one of those guys you just love.”
Point guard Lonzo Ball concurred.
“He’s just a great kid. We’re proud of him, glad we got him some minutes tonight,” he chimed in (he's actually younger than Wagner).
As much as the Lakers like what the big man brings to the table, they haven't been able to afford him many minutes. They are a team under loads of pressure so it's quite understandable that Walton has been favoring his more experienced heads.
“Obviously it’s not the easiest,” Wagner, who has only played 17 minutes this season, said. “It’s a little frustrating. You want to get out there, you want to play, you want to help the team win. It wasn’t an easy couple months for me, but every day is game day. You’ve got to approach it day-by-day and it’s going to pay off.
“I’m going to be in the gym tomorrow morning at 9 a.m."
What This Means
The Lakers likely won't be able to take their foot off the gas at any point this season, but Wagner could find a bit more favor from Walton as the campaign wears on.
10 points in 10 minutes represent quite a decent output for a rookie who hardly plays, but he will have to bide his time in this Lakers team, given their lofty ambitions.