Pelicans: Here’s 14 things that defined Brandon Ingram’s first All-Star nod

13. While Ingram’s defense isn’t what it was with the Lakers, he’s showing signs of becoming a better two-way player

If there was anything that Brandon Ingram did well with the Lakers, it was showing the capability to be a really good defender of multiple positions.

This year for the Pelicans, his defense has underwhelmed a bit, as the team gives up +3.9 more points and allows teams to shoot +1.4% better from the floor when Ingram’s on the court.

However, it’s hard to give too much condemnation for Ingram’s defense without context for the rest of his team’s defensive struggles. The Pelicans started the season as one of the worst defensive units, though their 112.2 defensive rating is now just below average at 23rd in the NBA.

While it hasn’t been all rainbows on that for Ingram, he’s started to show a lot more poise when guarding bigs in particular, as his 1% block rate ranks in the 72nd percentile and his 2.8% foul rate ranks in the 74th percentile.

To put it in simple terms, while teams have been able to score on the Pelicans, Brandon Ingram isn’t allowing any free looks at the rim. He needs to make greater strides on that end but considering his age, his clear desire to defend is encouraging on its own.

14. Perhaps more important than anything else, Brandon Ingram has found peace in New Orleans.

Following in a similar vein to the durag discussion, the city of New Orleans just seems like a much better place for Brandon Ingram to play his professional basketball than Los Angeles.

Drafted with the second overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Ingram was the first player to move into Kobe Bryant‘s locker after the greatest Laker of all-time retired following the prior season.

Coming into the league with a lot of pressure to perform right away, Ingram understandably struggled to be the next-big-thing for Los Angeles Lakers basketball and that challenge just got harder when the team brought LeBron James into their mix.

Now playing alongside a really kind group of human beings with the New Orleans Pelicans, Ingram is in a world that’s dramatically calmed. The 22-year-old can be himself in the Southern city that reminds him of his native North Carolina.

While Ingram is an incredibly hard worker and put the time in to be a great player in Los Angeles, the scene in New Orleans has given him a lot more room to be himself, which is best for someone as introverted as Brandon Ingram.