Andre Ingram never gave up.
The former American University basketball player spent 10 years in the G League waiting for his opportunity. His big chance would come Tuesday in a matchup with the Rockets and the 32-year-old Lakers rookie made the most of every second, proof provided by the good data editorial folks at Opta.
Ingram scored 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three rebounds and three blocks in the Lakers' 105-99 loss to Houston. But just how good was Ingram? Only as good as has ever been for a rookie 31 years old or older.
The 32-year-old (OK, actually 32 years, 142 days, to be exact) scored 17 more points than any player 31 or older making his NBA debut. He is one of only two players making his NBA debut at that late of an age to even score a point. Only Marcelo Huertas, who was 32 years, 156 days old when he made his debut with the Lakers in 2015, scored in his debut among those players.
Ingram is the third-oldest player to make his NBA debut, trailing just Huertas and Knicks point guard Pablo Prigioni, who made his debut at 35 years, 169 days old.
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| Player | Age | Date | Team | Min | FG | FGA | FG% | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | Pts |
| Pablo Prigioni | 35, 169 | Nov. 2, 2012 | Knicks | 16 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcelo Huertas | 32, 156 | Oct. 28, 2015 | Lakers | 13 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Andre Ingram | 32, 142 | April 10, 2018 | Lakers | 29 | 6 | 8 | .750 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 19 |
| Pero Antic | 31, 93 | Oct. 30, 2013 | Hawks | 8 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antoine Rigaudeau | 31, 33 | Jan. 19, 2003 | Mavericks | 5 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Note: Age is in years and days.
