We sat down with Lonzo Ball on Tuesday at an event for Panini trading cards, which will be making “instant” cards during the Draft on Thursday night. But before they could print up cards with Ball’s likeness and new uniform -- whatever color that may be -- we had a few questions. And Ball had plenty of answers.

Me: So were you into trading cards when you were growing up?

Lonzo Ball: Yeah, I had some trading cards when I was younger, and it’s kind of cool now to have my own.

Me: You have two younger brothers. Were they into cards, too?



LB: Yeah. We kind of collected them and would compare and see who had the best ones.

Me: Who had the most?

LB: Definitely my little brother, Melo. He was really into them.

Me: Are you going to sell him some of your cards? Maybe charge him extra for some autographed cards?

LB: (laughs) I mean, I’ll give them to him for free. That’s my man.

Me: What was the moment when you first knew you had a real shot at playing in the NBA?

LB: I would say in seventh grade. That’s when my Dad, he kind of sat me down and was like, “You need to start thinking about what you want to do.” And I was like, “I want to play in the NBA.” And he was like, “Alright.” And that’s when we started taking it seriously.

Training and conditioning has been a staple of Lonzo Ball's preparation for the NBA.

Me: Were you already the best player in your class at school?

LB: Yeah, in my school and around town. I already knew God had gifted me with certain talents that other people don’t have, and I’ve just tried to use them to the best of my ability.

Me: So if I was an NBA team, what would you tell me to get me to draft you?

LB: That I’m a pure point guard who will come in, put winning first, put the team first, and do whatever I can to help the program. And we can just go from there.

Me: I know passing is one of your strengths. Do you consider yourself a pass-first guard?

LB: I think I can score. But personally, I like to pass first, because people love people who pass. And I’m a point guard, so my job is to kind of get people open.

Me: You grew up in the Los Angeles area. Were the Lakers your favorite team when you were growing up?

LB: Well, I was more of a player guy. Like, I watched my favorite players. So, definitely LeBron, Kobe, T-Mac, Iverson for sure, guys like that. But my favorite player is LeBron.

Me: Other than LeBron, that's not really a bunch of guys known as pass-first players.

LB: Nah, I just liked watching them play (laughs).