Lonzo Ball has been packing on muscle in the offseason

In his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball noticeably struggled with the physicality of the NBA, particularly when attacking the rim and fighting through screens. It’s for that reason Ball has made it his primary focus to pack on muscle this offseason.

According to Ball’s teammate and fellow rookie Kyle Kuzma, the 20-year-old point guard has been “taking the weight room a lot more seriously this summer” and a picture posted by Ball on Tuesday backed that claim up.

It could just be the angle, but Ball looks a lot bigger in this picture than he did at any point during his rookie season. Those rubber bands strength and conditioning coach Gunnar Peterson has been using might be working after all.

Our own Pete Zayas took a look at how improved strength and conditioning can help Ball make the leap next season. Suffice to say, it would be a tremendous boost to his already impressive skillset.

Ball will have the rest of the summer to be in the gym, as he and Kuzma aren’t scheduled to participate in either of the Lakers’ summer league competitions in July. The pictures look great right now, but we’ll see how much it helps when training camp comes around in September. Either way, it's official that the NBA's annual offseason #musclewatch has begun, and Ball has the Lakers off to a solid start in that department.

Stay tuned to Silver Screen and Roll for more updates on the Lakers' offseason training progress.