Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball and girlfriend Denise Garcia welcomed their first child on Sunday, a baby girl named Zoey Christina Ball. Lonzo, 20, sent out a tweet yesterday that read, "7.22.18 #ZCB," revealing that the newest addition to the Big Baller Brand has arrived.
Ball and Garcia have reportedly been dating since they attended Chino Hills High School together. According to TMZ Sports, a family rep confirmed Zoey Christina Ball was born on Sunday and the baby girl is as happy and healthy as can be.
In his rookie season with the Lakers, Ball appeared in 52 games, averaging 10.2 points, 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds en route to All-Rookie Second Team honors. He also finished the season with 13 double-doubles and two triple-doubles, tying LeBron James as the youngest player in NBA history to record multiple triple-double games.
This off-season, Ball underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and is expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp, according to the Los Angeles Lakers. The team went out and signed veteran point guard Rajon Rondo this Summer, who Magic Johnson hopes will serve as a mentor to the young PG.
"I've told everybody when I took over the job and then we drafted him, the one thing that [Ball] was missing was a mentor," said Magic Johnson, according to ESPN. "We really didn't have a mentor for him to really teach him and help him how to play the point guard position.
"And now we have one in Rondo that can really take him through how to read defenses, how to play and defend certain guys in the league at the position. Just talk basketball to. So, this is really going to be an important year for Lonzo and I think Rondo will really help him out a lot."