(Audacy) The Bulls recently lost a second-round pick after the NBA investigated their acquisition of Lonzo Ball last offseason, finding that the team had engaged in illegal early discussions. We can only imagine how all of that would look if Ball hadn't been playing at a high level to this point in the season and the Bulls were set to suffer even further as a result.
Luckily, we don't have to worry about that. Ball has been excellent in his first season with Chicago. He's shooting 42.6% on 3-pointers, by far the best mark of his career. He's helping facilitate in a good offense and distributing the rock to his many skilled teammates while also averaging 12.4 points himself. Defensively, Ball has been stellar, averaging 1.7 steals per game (13th in the NBA) and wreaking havoc overall, with the sixth-most defensive win shares in basketball (1.3) through Tuesday.
But perhaps Ball's most impressive statistic is one that we haven't listed yet: blocks. For a point guard, his ability to affect opponents' shooting is something that's atypical for the position. And sure, Ball might be taller than most other points guard as he stands 6-foot-6, but the impact remains the same.
As of right now, with Ball averaging 1.0 blocks per game, he's the only point guard in league history to post such a high average while also qualifying for the blocks-per-game leaderboard (h/t Reddit user JoeBiden2020FTW for the great find). Here's the list of guards to average 1.0 blocks per game over the course of a season and qualify for the year-end leaderboards -- but this features a handful of talented shooting guards but no other point guards (via Stathead).
Dennis Johnson, who ranks at No. 3 on the list, did play point guard for much of his career. However, he was a shooting guard for the majority of his early career, including in that 1978-'79 championship season in Seattle when Gus Williams played at the point. It's also worth noting that the 76ers' Matisse Thybulle is on a tear of his own this year, but that's not something that's particularly surprising if you're aware of just how unprecedented the Australian's career has been on the defensive end of the floor.
As another savvy Reddit user pointed out in the comments, John Wall has had some similarly awesome seasons in the blocks category, though he didn't qualify for the leaderboards in the one season he exceeded a block per game, appearing in only 41 contests.
Some other names that you won't see on the above leaderboard are players like Michael Jordan (1.6 blocks per game in 1987-'88 season) and Vince Carter (1.5 blocks per game in 1998-'99 season) because they qualified as guard/forwards, according to Stathead's database. Still, those players don't affect the fact that Ball is the lone point guard with an average of a block or more, and that's the main focus here.
We'll see if this figure is sustainable. Ball has a combined 10 blocks over his last three games, with a magnificent four-block performance to go along with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in Chicago's win over Denver on Monday. If he keeps posting these ridiculous stat sheet-stuffing lines, anything is possible.
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