Lakers News: Malik Monk Credits LeBron James for Transformational Season in LA

Monk recognizes James' efforts to get him to LA and reflects on the year they spent together on the court

Not only does Malik Monk have LeBron James to thank for his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he's also grateful for the time they spent on the court together as Monk closes out his one-year contract.

He reflected on his past five years in the league (quote via Jason Anderson from the Sacramento Bee).

“Lifechanging experiences from both aspects. With Jordan being the owner, I've seen things from that side, and with LeBron being a player, I’ve seen things from his side, so I had a lot of lifechanging experiences with those guys.”

The 24-year-old guard spent four years with the Charlotte Hornets before he worked out a veteran minimum deal with the Lakers for this past season.

Immediately, Monk made a difference. The dominant guard was fourth on the team in points per game and first in made 3-pointers.

He appeared in 76 games for the Lakers in 2021-22, and was a starter in 37 of them. The former lottery pick averaged a career-high 13.8 points per game and posted the highest field-goal percentage (47.3%) of his career. 

With the Hornets, he was only averaging 11.7 points and didn't start in a single game of the 2020-2021 season. Perhaps he just needed more time to develop, or perhaps the Hornets just grossly misused him. 

To his credit, Monk was the ideal off-ball guard to compliment LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.

After spending a year with the Lakers, Monk recently signed a two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings in free agency. The Arkansas bet on himself