Lakers hand Hickey the keys

Illawarra Hawks championship-winning guard, Will Hickey, is relishing his opportunity as the Los Angeles Lakers starting point guard at Summer League.

“It was after the Golden State game in San Fran, we went through shootaround in the morning and coach just read out the starters, and I was one of them and it surprised me,” Hickey said following his team’s second straight win in Las Vegas.

“So, I just took that opportunity.”

Hickey hasn’t had much time to rest since the end of the last NBL season, having joined the Lakers G League team, then returning to play in the NBL1 East following a return to the United States to spend time with Justin Tatum.

“I was in St Louis for… just under three weeks with JT, just getting to know his people and working out with him,” he said.

“I was just getting some runs in down there with some of the pros and college players, so it was good preparation for this.”

Hickey has been making the most of his opportunities, highlighted by his nine-point, seven-rebound, three-assist game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in just 16 minutes.

“It’s just confidence, confidence is everything,” he added.

“Once you sort of get a taste for it then you can understand like ‘ok, I feel I can be out there and help, I can contribute to winning.’

“So that was a big part of it.”

His emergence has been one of the best stories of resilience and hard work in recent years, and now Hickey is eyeing the next step in his career, as he looks to build on the advice of the Lakers staff during this week.

“Just the organizational part, keep the guys in order and get them the ball in the right spots, it’s the little things,” he said.

“Being realistic coming into a side like this and trying to help guys that are already here or looking to be here and make their lives a bit easier.

“If I can walk away and say I’ve done a good job of that then I’m happy.”