The Ball Family may find themselves as punchlines in many basketball circles, but the youngest son LaMelo Ball could actually be the crown jewel of the polarizing cast of characters.
Pungent patriarch Lavar obviously saturates the headlines with ridiculous soundbites such as he would have beaten Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one ‘back in my day’, that his middle son LiAngelo was a better draft prospect than Duke phenom Zion Williamson, and that his oldest son Lonzo was the face of the Los Angeles Lakers, NOT LeBron James.
Most stories following the family are automatically pushed aside as fake news, or tabloid toeing, but 18-year-old LaMelo is starting to gain momentum as a legitimate stud less than a year out from his arrival into the 2020 NBA Draft.
ESPN NBA Draft reporter Jonathan Givony published a report this week showcasing the esteemed praise Ball was receiving from NBA scouts and executives.
One executive said of Ball: “He’s already an elite passer. He has great vision, he has great creativity, a lot like his brother that way. He is probably ahead of where his brother was on that. But then you add the size and some of the other skills, and he’s an obviously exciting player. He is a far better shooter than his brother, too. He will be in the mix for the first overall pick."
One scout even went so far to compare him to Rookie of the Year Dallas Mavericks sensation Luka Doncic, who averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists as a 19-year-old.
“He reminds me of Luka Doncic, in terms of his size, his feel and creativity.”
Ball had 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists in his first game in Australia’s National Basketball League, where he stars on the Illawarra Hawks alongside former five-star high school recruit R.J. Hampton.
The 2020 NBA Draft is on June 25th and will feature big names the likes of James Wiseman from Memphis, Anthony Edwards from Georgia, and Cole Anthony from North Carolina.