T&C 21+
Brandon Ingram is a forward for the New Orleans Pelicans who has had a promising start to his young career thanks to his strong scoring abilities. Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers after a year at Duke University, from his rookie season Ingram showed the ability to handle the ball well and create shots. His game grew steadily in his three years with the Lakers, before he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans with Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart in exchange for Anthony Davis.
In New Orleans, as the Pelicans primary scorer, while rookie Zion Williamson was out with injury, Ingram’s game blossomed and he earned a 2020 All-Star selection. Prior to the season’s suspension, he was averaging career-high numbers with 24.3 PPG, 4.3 APG and 6.3 RPG.
Ingram played for Kinston High School and began making an impact his freshman year. The team won a state title all four years of his high school career. He shone in big games, including 28 points in the state title game his sophomore year and 22 in the championship game as a senior when he led the team to a comeback victory. Ingram also played in numerous high-profile basketball camps and the McDonald’s All-American game.
Ingram was rated as a five-star recruit. ESPN considered him the 3rd best player in his class. He committed to play college basketball for the Duke University Blue Devils.
Ingram played one season in the NCAA with Duke. He scored 15 and 21 points in his first two games with Duke, who started the season ranked fifth in the nation. He helped Duke beat rivals University of North Carolina Tar Heels with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Despite strong performances by Ingram, Duke had a disappointing postseason, losing to Notre Dame in the ACC tournament and losing to Oregon in the NCAA Tournament. He was named to the ACC All-Rookie Team and won honorable mention for the AP All-American team.
After the season, Ingram declared for the 2016 NBA draft.
Ingram was selected with the 2nd overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Coach Luke Walton immediately envisioned an important role for Ingram, and he frequently functioned as a lead ballhandler in the Lakers’ offense. His ability to generate scoring for himself led to comparisons to Kevin Durant. He started 40 out of the 79 games he played in in the 2016-2017 season. The next year, all 59 of his appearances were starts. His scoring rose to 16.1 points per game, and his third year he increased it to 18.3 points per game before missing the last 30 games of the season due to shoulder injury.
Ingram was traded to the Pelicans, where he had the opportunity to be the team’s primary offensive weapon while they waited for Zion Williamson to recover from injury. His three-point shooting rose dramatically in volume to 6.3 attempts per game, while nearly matching his previous season-best accuracy at 38.7% from three. He was the Pelican’s leading scorer at 24.3 points per game. With this improvement, Ingram was selected for the 2020 NBA All-Star game.
Ingram is on his rookie deal, a four-year, $24 million contract of which he has so far earned $16.5M. He enters free agency in the 2020 offseason. He has an endorsement deal with Adidas.
Brandon Ingram signed a four-year, $24 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016.
Brandon Ingram grew up in North Carolina with mother Joann and father Donald. His father had previously worked as a college basketball referee. He has two half-siblings, Brittany and Donovan.
Outside of basketball, Ingram enjoys drawing and fishing.
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