Duke basketball: The 10 greatest NBA Blue Devils of all time
By Matt Giles
All-time top 10 Duke basketball pro: No. 10 Brandon Ingram
At this time last year, Brandon Ingram wouldn’t have been on a list such as this. Because prior to his 2019-20 campaign — his first with the New Orleans Pelicans after spending his first three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers — the 6-foot-7 forward hadn’t yet refined his shot enough to reach the All-Star status that his one-and-done Duke basketball career seemed to promise.
This past season, leading to his first All-Star selection, Ingram hit 2.4 three’s per game while shooting 39.1 percent, a far cry from the year before when he averaged only 0.6 at a 33.0 percent clip. Plus, despite similar minutes to his final two seasons in Los Angeles, Ingram bumped up his attempts from the charity stripe while increasing his accuracy there from the 60s to 85.1 percent.
Naturally, the former No. 2 overall pick’s scoring average jumped as well, from 18.3 points in his third year as a pro to 23.8 in New Orleans. Needless to say, the 22-year-old slithering scorer’s stock should continue to rise, no matter where the restricted free agent spends next season.