National Basketball Association

The Lakers gave Kobe Bryant's locker to Brandon Ingram

Published Jul. 5, 2016 6:19 p.m. ET

Aaron Torres

With Kobe Bryant officially retired, there is no doubt that the Lakers have begun what everyone in L.A. (except for a few, scattered Clippers' fans) hope will be the next chapter in the franchise's rich, storied history. Gone is virtually every key piece from the team's most recent successes in the early part of this past decade. The team is now turning to a crop of young players -- D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram.

There are especially high expectations on Ingram, the No. 2 pick last month, who averaged just under 17 points during his freshman season at Duke.

And Tuesday, we found out just how high those expectations are: The Lakers have given Ingram Kobe's old locker at the team's El Segundo, Calif., practice facility. It appears to be a literal passing of the torch from Kobe to Ingram, along with all the metaphorical ones over the past few weeks.

And if you think that the locker pass-off was just a coincidence, think again. Ingram was specifically asked about it during an introductory news conference Tuesday:

Let's say this about Ingram: Whether he turns into the next Lakers' star or not, he certainly knows how to endear himself to his new fan-base, which is desperate for something positive to happen. At the very least Ingram deserves credit for not running from the astronomical expectations facing him, but instead, running straight toward them.

Brandon Ingram will be taking over Kobe's old locker and is looking forward to the pressure on him pic.twitter.com/uTVW718zJ9
— The Cauldron (ICYMI) (@CauldronICYMI) July 5, 2016

Here is more from Ingram's opening act in front of the media.

In terms of whether Ingram ends up as the team's next big star, only time will tell.

But we'll begin to get those answers this weekend, when Ingram makes his Lakers' debut at the Vegas Summer League.