LeBron James heaped praise on Brandon Ingram and the Lakers

After witnessing the Los Angeles Lakers nearly knock off his own defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James was surprised.

"They don't look like a team that's only won 20 games,” James said (via Serena Winters of Lakers Nation), and he was right. The Lakers offense was humming as the team hit shot after shot to push the Cavaliers to their limit, and after taking some time to praise D’Angelo Russell for his role in the near upset, James turned his attention to the young forward he was often matched up with.

"Kid has a lot of talent. The more he plays, the more and more he is going to get more comfortable out there,” James said (via Winters). “He has the in between game, can handle the ball. He shot a couple long balls tonight and that worked for him too."

Ingram’s shot chart from the game confirms the King’s analysis of the promising young forward:

Ingram’s work wasn’t perfect on the night, but continuing to rack of praise from some of the best players and minds in the league shouldn’t go unnoticed. The Lakers have something special in their rookie forward, they just have to be patient and let him reach his full potential.

All stats per NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com. Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.