Will LiAngelo Ball join his brothers in the NBA?
After what proved to be a highly successful NBA season for the youngest of the three Ball brothers in LaMelo Ball, LiAngelo Ball is the only Ball brother who has not yet featured in the NBA. Lonzo Ball, the oldest of the three, was the second overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft for the LA Lakers and was a major part of a young core that included the likes of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle.
Regardless, Lonzo Ball was part of a blockbuster deal that saw Anthony Davis make his way to the Lakers. Lonzo has seen an overall increase in mass in the past few seasons. He also improved his defense and three-point shooting. The point-guard recently revealed that becoming an All-Star is his next goal.
Meanwhile, LaMelo Ball was the third overall pick of the Charlotte Hornets in the 2020 NBA draft. The 19-year old rookie is also the youngest of the Ball brothers and had an exemplary first season in which he averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds. He won the rookie of the year award despite the Charlotte Hornets not making it past the Play-in tournament. In this article, we look at whether LiAngelo Ball will join his two brothers in the NBA anytime soon.
Will LiAngelo Ball join his two brothers in the NBA anytime soon?
Initially not considered an NBA prospect, LiAngelo Ball, now 22, is currently a free agent with no suggestions of him making it to the NBA anytime soon. A versatile guard by trade like his two brothers, LiAngelo Ball left UCLA in December 2017 to prepare for the 2018 NBA draft. However, he was eventually signed by BC Prenai of the Lithuanian Basketball League before signing with the Los Angeles Ballers of the Junior basketball Association in July 2018.
The league was founded by his father as an alternative to college basketball. Ball had a highly successful season, helped his team to the Junior Basketball Title and was also named as the Finals MVP. He had another short stint with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. LiAngelo Ball again tried to kickstart his NBA campaign and was signed to a training camp contract by the Detroit Pistons in December 2020. However, he was waived after barely 11 days, and did not end up playing a single preseason game for the Detroit Pistons as well.
For LiAngelo Ball, his training camp contract with the Detroit Pistons is the closest he has come to potentially featuring in the NBA like his other two brothers. He is said to be a more prolific scorer but is not considered an NBA prospect. LiAngelo Ball registered a season-high 58 points during his stint with the Los Angeles Ballers, which has proved to be his best individual return so far. As mentioned above, LiAngelo Ball has made no suggestions of potentially being signed by an NBA franchise in the near future. Hence, it appears as if he will not be joining his two brothers in the league anytime soon.